COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Meg Munn: The Department for Communities and Local Government was established on 12 March 2006 and its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, was established on 29 May 2002. Advertising figures before that can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In 2002-03 the advertising spend was £3.4 million on fire safety running throughout the year.
	In 2003-04 the advertising spend was £4.4 million of this sum—£2.9 million was spent on fire safety running in September, February and March and £1.5 million was spent on Elected Regional Assemblies running in June and July.

Arm's Length Management

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to reform arm's length management organisations.

Yvette Cooper: The review of Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) and a statement, "From Decent Homes to Sustainable Communities" were published on 7 June. The documents examined how ALMOs could build on the success of their delivery of decent homes and set out the Department's view on the long-term future of ALMOs within the broader social housing context. The statement invites views on the emerging initiatives and ideas raised in the documents by 15 September 2006.

Arm's Length Management

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average rents were in council-owned housing stock in each local authority in each year since 1990, including where the management of the stock has been transferred to an arm's length management organisation.

Yvette Cooper: A table showing average local authority rents for the years 1995-96 to 2004-05 inclusive has been placed in the House Library. Information for earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Ballpoint Pens

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent on ballpoint pens with Office of the Deputy Prime Minister branding; and how many were ordered.

Meg Munn: The then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent a total of £3,450 on 20,000 ballpoint pens with Office of the Deputy Prime Minister branding.

Ballpoint Pens

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent in the last 12 months on pens marked with the "Office of the Deputy Prime Minister" title.

Meg Munn: The then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent £1,900 on pens marked with "Office of the Deputy Prime Minister" in the 12 months to the 5 May 2006.

Brownfield Land

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her definition is of brownfield land for planning purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 18 July 2006
	The definition for brownfield land is currently set out in Annexe C to Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 —Housing. This says that:
	"Previously-developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure (excluding agricultural or forestry buildings), and associated fixed surface infrastructure(1). The definition covers the curtilage of the development(2). Previously-developed land may occur in both built-up and rural settings. The definition includes defence buildings and land used for mineral extraction and waste disposal(3 )where provision for restoration has not been made through development control procedures(4).
	The definition excludes land and buildings that are currently in use for agricultural or forestry purposes, and land in built-up areas which has not been developed previously (e.g. parks, recreation grounds, and allotments—even though these areas may contain certain urban features such as paths, pavilions and other buildings). Also excluded is land that was previously developed but where the remains of any structure or activity have blended into the landscape in the process of time (to the extent that it can reasonably be considered as part of the natural surroundings), and where there is a clear reason that could outweigh the re-use of the site—such as its contribution to nature conservation—or it has subsequently been put to an amenity use and cannot be regarded as requiring redevelopment."
	The definition is based on the Land Use Change Statistics classification (LUCS) introduced in 1985.
	In December last year we published draft PPS 3, which is designed to update planning for housing policy. Annexe A of draft PPS 3 proposes some clarificatory changes to the definition of previously developed land. We are currently considering representations that were received to the consultation on draft PPS3, and are due to publish final PPS 3 later in the year.

Cantxx

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) she has and  (b) Ministers in her Department have received official hospitality from Cantxx Ventures Ltd. and Cantxx UK and its associated companies in the last four years.

Meg Munn: Neither the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, or any Minister in her Department has received official hospitality from Cantxx Ventures Ltd. or Cantxx UK or its associated companies.

Conservation Areas

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many designated conservation areas there are in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster.

Yvette Cooper: The Government do not hold this information centrally. However I understand from the local planning authority that Barnsley has recorded 18 conservation areas and that Doncaster has recorded 46.

Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many criminal offences her Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: There have been no criminal offences created in Orders in Council for which the Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible since DCLG was created in May 2006. Nor were any criminal offences created in Orders in Council by its predecessor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, since 2002. It would involve a disproportionate cost to provide details in respect of predecessor Departments for the period before 2002.

Departmental Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the projected budgets are for each area-based initiative which receives funding from her Department for  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09, broken down by (i) region and (ii) county.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was established on 5 May 2006 following the machinery of government changes.
	The table following sets out the projected budgets by region for the area based initiative programmes sponsored by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which are now administered by DCLG.
	The Department does not hold county level data for the full suite of area based programmes.
	The 2008-09 budget allocations will be set following the outcome of the comprehensive spending review 2007.
	
		
			  (i) Details of projected budgets by region 
			  £ million 
			  Region/programme  2006-07 budget  2007-08 provisional budget 
			  Eastern   
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Growth Areas 17.0 32.9 
			 Thames Gateway 36.8 49.3 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 3.9 3.9 
			 New Deal for  Communities 7.9 8.1 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 1.0 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 29.1 — 
			 ERDF 5.8 7.7 
			 Total 101.6 101.9 
			
			  East Midlands   
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Growth Areas 21.0 29.2 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 31.0 31.0 
			 New Deal for  Communities 20.3 17.4 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 1.7 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 99.2 — 
			 ERDF 13.8 17.9 
			 Total 187.1 95.5 
			
			  London   
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Growth Areas 20.0 27.7 
			 Thames Gateway 59.2 82.8 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 119.0 108.8 
			 New Deal for  Communities 70.0 71.2 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 13.8 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 83.7 — 
			 ERDF 9.3 12.1 
			 Total 375.1 302.6 
			
			  North East   
			 Market Renewal  Pathfinders 28.5 53.8 
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 65.1 64.1 
			 New Deal for  Communities 27.8 23.5 
			 Safer Stronger Communities Fund 5.0 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 31.5 — 
			 ERDF 23.3 30.3 
			 Total 181.3 171.7 
			
			  North West   
			 Market Renewal Pathfinders 178.9 196.7 
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 143 142.6 
			 New Deal for  Communities 42.5 37.6 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 22.6 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 79.0 — 
			 ERDF 66.5 86.3 
			 Total 532.6 463.2 
			
			  South East   
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Growth Areas 31.0 46.5 
			 Thames Gateway 51.0 50.9 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 3.4 3.9 
			 New Deal for  Communities 14.9 14.4 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 3.2 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 66.5 — 
			 ERDF 1.6 2.0 
			 Total 171.7 117.7 
			
			  South West   
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 10.6 10.5 
			 New Deal for  Communities 15.8 14.4 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 11.1 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 15.6 — 
			 ERDF 18.2 23.5 
			 Total 71.4 48.4 
			
			  West Midlands   
			 Market Renewal  Pathfinders 52 79.5 
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 70.0 74.6 
			 New Deal for  Communities 46.5 45 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 5.8 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 50.4 — 
			 ERDF 27.9 36.3 
			 Total 252.7 235.4 
			
			  Yorkshire and Humberside   
			 Market Renewal  Pathfinders 63.0 86.5 
			 Liveability Fund 0.1 — 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 79.0 86.0 
			 New Deal for  Communities 27.3 16.8 
			 Safer Stronger  Communities Fund 6.1 — 
			 Local Area Agreements 68.2 — 
			 ERDF 48.4 62.9 
			 Total 292.1 252.2 
		
	
	There is also a budget of £17.7 million in 2006-07 and in 2007-08 for the coalfields regeneration trust, for which a regional breakdown is not currently available.
	In addition there is a central support budget of £6.5 million in 2006-07 and a provisional budget of £5.6 million in 2007-08 for new deal for communities.

Departmental Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was  (a) originally budgeted for 2005-06,  (b) not spent in 2005-06,  (c) carried forward to 2006-07 and  (d) budgeted for 2006-07 for each area-based initiative for which her Department is responsible.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was established on 5 May 2006 following the machinery of government changes.
	The following table sets out the data for the area- based initiative programmes sponsored by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which are now administered by DCLG.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Budget 2005-06  Under spend on budget 2005-06  End year flexibility earned on 2005-06 underspend  Budget 2006-07 
			  Programme  (a)  (b)  (c)  (d) 
			 New Deal for  Communities 274.6 2.0 2.0 279.5 
			 Liveability 39.5 1.8 1.8 (1)1.0 
			 Crime Wardens 8.1 0.0 0.0 (2)— 
			 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders 19.3 0.0 0.0 (2)— 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 38.1 0.0 0.0 (2)— 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 525.0 6.6 6.6 525.0 
			 Coalfields Regeneration Trust 20.7 2.1 2.1 17.7 
			 Market Renewal  Pathfinders 304.3 0.8 0.8 317.6 
			 Growth Areas 73.2 0 0 89.0 
			 European Regional Development Fund 228.8 2.1 2.1 214.9 
			 Thames Gateway 161.5 0 0 147.0 
			 (1) Balance included in Local Area Agreements (LAAs) from 2006-07.  (2) Included in Local Area Agreements (LAAs) from 2006-07.

Departmental Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the budget was for each area-based initiative for  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06 for each (i) region and (ii) county.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was established on 5 May 2006 following the machinery of government changes.
	The following table sets out the amount of grants and payments made by region for the area-based initiative programmes sponsored by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which are now administered by DCLG.
	The Department does not hold county level data for the full suite of area-based programmes.
	
		
			  (i) Details of projected budgets by region 
			  £ million 
			  Region/Programme  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Eastern   
			 Liveability Fund 4.3 4.5 
			 Growth Areas 14.3 20.4 
			 Thames Gateway 26.5 33.3 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 3.5 3.5 
			 New Deal for Communities 10.5 11.2 
			 ERDF 8.0 6.3 
			 Crime Wardens 2.5 — 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 1.0 1.0 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 0.7 0.6 
			 Total 71.3 80.8 
			
			  East Midlands   
			 Liveability Fund 4.7 4.8 
			 Growth Areas 16.0 15.6 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 29.1 33.6 
			 New Deal for Communities 24.8 24.8 
			 ERDF 18.8 14.7 
			 Crime Wardens 1.8 0.9 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 1.8 1.8 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 3.1 2.7 
			 Total 100.1 98.9 
			
			  London   
			 Liveability Fund 4.7 4.6 
			 Growth Areas 2.0 5.8 
			 Thames Gateway 70.5 68.9 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 100.7 128.8 
			 New Deal for Communities 62.2 72.1 
			 ERDF 12.7 9.9 
			 Crime Wardens 3.9 3.0 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 2.4 2.4 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 9.3 8.2 
			 Total 268.4 303.7 
			
			  North East   
			 Market Renewal Pathfinders 28 31.9 
			 Liveability Fund 3.7 3.9 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 59.4 69.1 
			 New Deal for Communities 27.7 31.1 
			 ERDF 31.7 24.9 
			 Crime Wardens 2.5 — 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 2.5 2.5 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 6.2 5.5 
			 Total 161.7 168.9 
			
			  North West   
			 Market Renewal Pathfinders 118.3 176.6 
			 Liveability Fund 4.2 4.3 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 124.5 149.1 
			 New Deal for Communities 41.4 36.2 
			 ERDF 90.4 70.8 
			 Crime Wardens 3.8 1.5 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 3.7 3.7 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 11.0 9.7 
			 Total 397.3 451.9 
			  South East   
			 Liveability Fund 4.5 4.5 
			 Growth Areas 30.1 31.3 
			 Thames Gateway 50.8 59.3 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 4.6 4.6 
			 New Deal for Communities 12.8 12.0 
			 ERDF 2.2 1.7 
			 Crime Wardens 1.8 1.2 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 1.2 2.3 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 1.2 1.0 
			 Total 109.2 117.9 
			
			  South West   
			 Liveability Fund 4.7 4.3 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 9.1 10.7 
			 New Deal for Communities 13.9 11 
			 ERDF 24.6 19.3 
			 Crime Wardens 0.9 — 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 1.5 1.5 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 1.4 1.2 
			 Total 56.1 48 
			
			  West Midlands   
			 Market Renewal Pathfinders 20.6 49.3 
			 Liveability Fund 4.5 4.8 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 56.3 59.7 
			 New Deal for Communities 39.3 42.1 
			 ERDF 38.0 29.7 
			 Single Regeneration Fund — — 
			 Crime Wardens 1.2 1.5 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 1.9 1.9 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 4.6 4.2 
			 Total 166.4 193.2 
			
			  Yorkshire and Humberside   
			 Market Renewal Pathfinders 30.0 45.4 
			 Liveability Fund 3.7 3.8 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal fund 62.8 66.0 
			 New Deal for Communities 27.7 28.1 
			 ERDF 65.9 51.5 
			 Crime Wardens 1.1 — 
			 Neighbourhood Management pathfinders 2.2 2.2 
			 Community Empowerment Networks 5.5 4.6 
			 Total 198.9 201.6 
		
	
	There was also an expenditure of £17.7 million in 2004-05 and £20.7 million in 2005-06 for the coalfields regeneration trust, for which the regional breakdown is not currently available.
	In addition, there was a central support expenditure of £9.7 million in 2004-05 and £6 million in 2005-06 for the new deal for communities programme.

Departmental Staff

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff worked in the private office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2005-06.

Angela Smith: For information relating to 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the hon. Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 8 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1245W.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid to her Department from the access to work scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget she plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of access to work funding for central Government Departments; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was established on 5 May 2006. Staff now working within DCLG were formerly employed in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Home Office.
	In 2005-06, £9,278 was paid to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister from the access to work scheme. To date in 2006-07, no access to work funding has been paid out to this Department, although applications for funds totalling £10,662 have been made. The costs of future reasonable adjustments will be met from departmental resources.
	The Office of Disability Issues (ODI) will also be monitoring the overall situation to ensure that there is no detriment to current and future employees who are disabled.

Environmental Regulations

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what regulatory simplification proposals her Department has received in relation to environmental regulations since the start of the initiative; which stakeholders have been consulted on each proposal; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government have received no simplification proposals in relation to environmental regulations. The Government are continuing to engage with a wide range of stakeholders from the private, public and voluntary sectors as part of a radical programme of reform to reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulation. The Government welcome suggestions from stakeholders for regulatory simplification.

Fire Control Project

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Department and its predecessors spent on external consultants on the fire control project in each year during the period May 2002 to March 2006.

Angela Smith: Consultants provide a wide range of specialist services and skills to the project. Among the staff they provide are project managers, lawyers, IT specialists, accountants, architects, building engineers, and experts in the property market and in security and resilience. Staff with these skills are not readily available in the civil service.
	The following table(1) gives the information requested:
	(1) The figures are stated net of reimbursements and exclude costs from within the public sector.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 0 
			 2003-04 1,524,833 
			 2004-05 9,055,656 
			 2005-06(1) 11,702,057 
			 (1) At the end of 2005-06 the Department clarified its policy in relation to VAT and this resulted in a significant charge to expenditure of VAT that had previously been treated as recoverable.

Fire Service

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 16 May 2006,  Official Report, column 924W, on the fire service, whether armed forces personnel would be required to cross picket lines in the event of a fire strike to collect fire appliances and equipment in order to provide emergency fire and rescue cover.

Meg Munn: No.

Fire Service

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firemen  (a) retired and  (b) retired on the grounds of ill health, broken down by type of ill health, in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The available information is set out in the following tables:
	
		
			  Firefighter retirements in England  (whole-time and retained duty system) 
			   Total retirements  Of which: ill health retirements 
			 1998-99 1,306 690 
			 1999-2000 1,294 625 
			 2000-01 1,276 634 
			 2001-02 1,296 497 
			 2002-03 1,529 587 
			 2003-04 1,260 531 
			 2004-05 1,476 348 
		
	
	
		
			  Type of ill health retirement 
			  (Percentage) 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Cancer 2 3 2 1 
			 Cardiovascular 8 5 7 5 
			 Mental Health 21 22 22 23 
			 Musculo Skeletal 50 54 44 54 
			 Neurological 3 2 4 4 
			 Respiratory 3 5 3 4 
			 Senses 6 6 10 4 
			 Other 7 4 9 6 
			  Notes: 2000-01 figures exclude West Sussex and Humberside  2001-02 figures exclude London   Source:  Fire and Rescue Service returns to DCLG

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the staffing costs, excluding administrative costs, of its fire service group were in the last five years for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: Since 2002 responsibility for fire services within my Department has been restructured several times and historical figures are not available in the form requested. In 2005-06 the fire service directorate was merged with the civil resilience directorate. The staffing costs (includes pay, temporary agency staff and secondees) for the combined directorate in 2005-06 was £18.5 million.

Fires

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) accidental and  (b) non-accidental fires were recorded in each London borough in 2005.

Angela Smith: Information provided by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) is tabulated as follows:
	
		
			  Fires attended by the London Fire Brigade in 2005 
			   Accidental  Non-accidental 
			 Barking 655 1,117 
			 Barnet 628 611 
			 Bexley 661 803 
			 Brent 620 447 
			 Bromley 632 1,145 
			 Camden 706 363 
			 City 90 4 
			 Croydon 642 768 
			 Ealing 732 618 
			 Enfield 712 758 
			 Greenwich 816 1,246 
			 Hackney 895 611 
			 Hammersmith 432 176 
			 Haringey 679 469 
			 Harrow 345 225 
			 Havering 625 913 
			 Hillingdon 627 620 
			 Hounslow 522 743 
			 Islington 615 566 
			 Kensington 396 150 
			 Kingston 257 216 
			 Lambeth 796 503 
			 Lewisham 728 627 
			 Merton 405 358 
			 Newham 869 924 
			 Redbridge 529 582 
			 Richmond 277 172 
			 Southwark 1,046 777 
			 Sutton 356 397 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,108 1,686 
			 Waltham Forest 628 530 
			 Wandsworth 612 346 
			 Westminster 1,040 192 
			  Source:  LFEPA

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to issue a format for home condition reports which will standardise that content within home information reports.

Yvette Cooper: On 14 June 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government published the standards for certification schemes which set out the form of the Home Condition Report. These can be found on the DCLG website at www.communities.gov.uk. The standards also set out the inspection and reporting requirements that home inspectors must observe.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice the information commissioner has provided in relation to the register of home condition reports.

Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government has had various discussions with the Information Commissioner's office about the home condition report register, and access to it, to ensure that the arrangements comply with data protection and privacy standards.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the publication of further  (a) guidance and  (b) circulars on home information packs.

Yvette Cooper: We expect to set out further information on the dry run and the next steps for market led roll-out of home condition reports with home information packs in the autumn. Further guidance for consumers will follow after that.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether a home information pack will be needed to sell a  (a) park home and  (b) mobile home.

Yvette Cooper: A home information pack will not be required for a park home or mobile home.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average income of a qualified, full-time home inspector.

Yvette Cooper: The cost of a home condition report will be set by the market. The current cost of a mid-level survey is around £400 plus VAT. A home inspector's income will generally depend on how many inspections they carry out and on the size of the property.

Home Condition Reports/Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what circumstances home inspectors  (a) may and  (b) will take photographs as part of their inspection of a property.

Yvette Cooper: The home condition report does not include photographs. However, the home inspector may, subject to obtaining the home owner's permission, take photographs during the course of an inspection to supplement the site notes which will form the basis of their preparation of the home condition report. This is the current practice of surveyors when undertaking home surveys.

Homelessness

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans there are to offer greater protection from homelessness to people living in properties left in trust; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: All trusts must use the properties held by them in accordance with the terms of their trusteeship and these may preclude them from acting in a way that is any different from any commercial landlord. Therefore, like all other tenants, those they let to must rely on the terms of their tenancy agreements.

Homelessness

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of people in the  (a) Houghton and Washington, East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area were (i) homeless and (ii) on Sunderland city council's housing waiting list in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: (i) Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation, which is collected in respect of households rather than persons, is collected quarterly and at local authority level. The parliamentary constituency of Houghton and Washington, East falls entirely within the Sunderland local authority.
	The number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need for each year since 1997-98, and the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation as at 31 March of each year since 1998, is tabled for the Sunderland local authority. The percentage of total number of households in temporary accommodation is also included.
	The duty owed to a person accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available. As an alternative to the provision of temporary accommodation, some authorities arrange for households to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	Information is also collected on the number of people who sleep rough—that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night—and these are also presented in the table.
	
		
			  Number of households in Sunderland (1) accepted as homeless( 1)  and (2) placed in temporary accommodation; (3) the proportion of total households in temporary accommodation; and (4) the number of rough sleepers 
			  ( 1) Number households accepted as homeless  Number of households in TA (31 March snapshot) ( 2) Percentage of households in TA/total households  Number of rough sleepers, people, (June estimate) 
			 1997-98 597 72 0.06 n/a 
			 1998-99 632 278 0.2 n/a 
			 1999-2000 n/a n/a n/a 0 
			 2000-01 735 880 0.7 0 
			 2001-02 690 1,179 1.0 0 
			 2002-03 791 12 0.01 0 
			 2003-04 894 12 0.01 0 
			 2004-05 597 15 0.01 0 
			 2005-06 593 9 0.01 0 
			 (1) Households found to be eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and falling within a priority need group, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty by the local authority. (2 )Based on mid-year estimates of household population.  Sources:  ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly) and HSSA returns (annual) 
		
	
	(ii) Information about housing waiting lists is not collected at constituency level. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Central dated 7 November 2005,  Official Report, columns 1114-16W, in which the number of households on the housing waiting list for Sunderland local authority, and the percentage of total households in the Sunderland local authority area were presented.

Housing

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 139-40W, on house sales, when the Department expects the baseline research to be completed.

Yvette Cooper: The baseline study on the home buying and selling process will be reporting later on this year.

Housing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of homes were built on brownfield sites in  (a) Bournemouth and  (b) Dorset (i) between 1997 and 2003 and (ii) since 2003.

Yvette Cooper: The information available is from the Department's land use change statistics. The estimated percentage of new dwellings built on brownfield land are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Bournemouth  Dorset 
			 1997-2003 94 65 
			 2004 100 67

Housing

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she has taken to ensure that new houses built under the sustainable communities programme meet high standards of energy efficiency; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government are committed to improving energy efficiency standards in all housing. The new buildings regulations part L 2006, taken together with changes to strengthen the building regulations in 2002 and 2005, will improve energy efficiency standards by 40 per cent. from pre-April 2002 levels. The new draft code for sustainable homes will also raise the environmental standard of housing further and will signal the future direction of building regulations.
	To achieve the higher levels of housing growth set out in the sustainable communities plan we recognise that new homes must be built in a sustainable way to reduce their environmental impact and carbon footprint. We have already committed around £400 million to the development of the three growth areas and £850 million for the Thames Gateway up to March 2008. This is to deliver on all aspects of a sustainable community, including environmental performance.

Housing

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average  (a) cost is of private homes for sale and  (b) monthly rental is for (i) private homes and (ii) social homes for rent divided by the average net household income of (A) all working age households and (B) households headed by people aged 25 to 40 years in (1) England, (2) Yorkshire and the Humber and (3) each housing local authority area in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The information is as follows:
	 (a) Average property prices for the period April 2004 to March 2005 were as follows. More recent prices are available but this period has been chosen for consistency with the answer to part  (b) for which 2004-05 is the most recent available.
	
		
			   Average (£) 
			  England 185,312 
			   
			  Yorkshire and Humber 131,718 
			   
			  Local authority area  
			 Barnsley 106,571 
			 Bradford 112,525 
			 Calderdale 118,801 
			 Craven 182,800 
			 Doncaster 113,026 
			 East Riding of Yorks 148,033 
			 Hambleton 214,700 
			 Harrogate 226,686 
			 Kingston upon Hull 68,965 
			 Kirklees 124,167 
			 Leeds 147,899 
			 North East Lincolnshire 96,670 
			 North Lincolnshire 119,548 
			 Richmondshire 181,443 
			 Rotherham 110,679 
			 Ryedale 200,997 
			 Scarborough 148,377 
			 Selby 167,160 
			 Sheffield 131,689 
			 Wakefield 122,868 
			 York 176,441 
			  Source: Land Registry 
		
	
	 (b) For 2004-05, the average net rent expressed as a percent of average disposable income is set out in the following table for:
	private renters and social renters;
	household reference persons of (i) working age and (ii) aged between 25 and 39;
	England and Yorkshire & Humber.
	Equivalent figures for individual local authorities are not available.
	
		
			  Average net rent expressed as a percentage of average disposable income, 2004-05 
			  Percentage 
			   Private renters  Social renters 
			  England   
			 HRP(1) of working age(2) 28 12 
			 HRP(1) between 25 and 39 26 11 
			
			  Yorkshire and Humber   
			 HRP(1) of working age(2) 20 10 
			 HRP(1) between 25 and 39 17 10 
			 (1 )HRP stands for Household Reference Person (formerly Head of Household)  (2) Working age is 16-64 for male HRPs and 16-59 for female HRPs  Notes:  1. All rents and incomes have been derived from DWP's Family Resources Survey for 2004-05.  2. Disposable income (equivalent to "net income") equals gross income less deductions for income tax and National Insurance contributions.  3. The income measure used was the joint disposable income of the HRP plus partner (if any) and not "household income". This is because, whilst there might be other income earners in the household, the HRP and spouse alone will generally have responsibility for paying the rent—so their joint income was considered to be the more appropriate income measure.  4. The rents used in the calculations were the average rents net of housing benefit (as opposed to gross rents). Net rents were considered more appropriate for comparison with disposable incomes.   Source:  Department for Work & Pensions: Family Resources Survey, 2004-05

Housing

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the number of families in temporary accommodation in each region for each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 24 July 2006
	Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter and, since 2002, separately identifies those that include dependent children or a pregnant woman.
	The duty owed to a person accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
	The total number of households in temporary accommodation (as arranged by local authorities) as at 31 March in each year since 2001, and the number of these with dependent children or an expectant mother since 2002, in each region of England are presented in the following table.
	
		
			  Households in temporary accommodation( 1)  arranged by local authorities, by Government office region 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03 
			   All households  All households  o.w families  All households  o.w families 
			 North East 1,480 1,820 1,270 440 220 
			 North West 2,070 1,890 990 2,500 1,330 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 2,700 1,830 870 2,240 1,160 
			 East Midlands 1,940 2,070 1,440 2,420 1,750 
			 West Midlands 2,070 1,840 1,030 1,570 1,050 
			 East 5,180 6,350 3,850 7,630 4,870 
			 London 42,620 46,390 33,010 52,690 37,620 
			 South East 11,560 12,230 8,320 13,020 9,480 
			 South West 5,600 5,790 3,860 6,530 4,030 
			 England 75,200 80,210 54,660 89,040 61,510 
		
	
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			   All households  o.w families  All households  o.w families  All households  o.w families 
			 North East 1,020 350 910 520 780 430 
			 North West 2,960 1,450 3,000 1,900 2,490 1,480 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 2,400 1,290 2,100 1,110 2,240 1,290 
			 East Midlands 2,820 2,090 3,030 2,250 1,950 1,470 
			 West Midlands 2,230 1,420 2,630 1,750 2,050 1,500 
			 East 8,220 5,650 8,250 5,480 6,610 4,640 
			 London 58,820 44,620 61,990 46,360 62,740 48,360 
			 South East 13,080 9,510 12,440 8,520 11,160 8,040 
			 South West 6,150 4,190 6,740 4,780 6,360 4,340 
			 England 97,680 70,580 101,070 72,670 96,370 71,560 
			 (1) Households in accommodation arranged by local authorities awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance of a main duty  Source:  DCLG P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly)

Housing

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the data sources are for her Department's house price index.

Meg Munn: The Department for Communities and Local Government's monthly house price index is a weighted average of prices for a standard mix of dwellings. Dwelling prices come from mortgage completion data from the regulated mortgage survey of the Council of Mortgage Lenders and BankSearch.
	The index is "mix-adjusted" to allow for the fact that different houses are sold in different periods and is achieved partly by fitting a model. The variables in the model include two variables that define similar areas. One is a classification of local authorities into clusters derived by the Office for National Statistics and the other neighbourhood type based on postcode data produced by CACI Ltd. (ACORN). In addition weightings in the "mix-adjustment" are based on transaction data, partly based on data from the Land Registry and partly on past data from the mortgage survey.

Housing

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of the total housing stock is key worker housing.

Yvette Cooper: As at mid year 2004 the estimated total amount of housing stock in England was 21,613,000 dwellings.
	In recent years the Government have funded a number of schemes to offer specific housing assistance to key workers in areas experiencing recruitment and retention difficulties: from April 2001 to March 2006, over 22,000 homes for key workers have been provided through the starter home initiative (SHI) and key worker living (KWL) programmes. These include both new homes and provision of equity loans to support purchase of existing homes.
	In addition, certain local authorities will make provision in the planning system for a proportion of new homes to be affordable housing for key worker groups based on specific local needs. We do not hold such information centrally.

Housing

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many key worker homes have been built in each region in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: In recent years the Government have funded a number of schemes to offer specific housing assistance to key workers in areas experiencing recruitment and retention difficulties: from April 2001 to March 2006, over 22,000 homes for key workers have been provided through the starter home initiative (SHI) and key worker living (KWL) programmes. These include both new homes and provision of equity loans to support purchase of existing homes.
	The following table details the number of new build homes provided for key workers through SHI and KWL over the past five years. 2005-06 completions are provisional until the Housing Corporation end of year processes are finalised.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 ( 1) 2005-06  
			 London 0 0 41 228 771 1,040 
			 South East 0 16 144 1,282 1,208 2,650 
			 East 0 21 5 100 261 387 
			 South West 0 20 14 0 0 34 
			  0 57 204 1,610 2,240 4,111 
			 (1) Provisional 
		
	
	In addition, certain local authorities will make provision in the planning system for a proportion of new homes to be affordable housing for key worker groups based on specific local needs. We do not hold such information centrally.

Housing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) council,  (b) other registered social landlord and  (c) private homes have been built in each London borough since 1997.

Meg Munn: A table showing the number of new build dwellings as reported by the Housing Corporation and each local authority in London, in each year from 1997-98 to 2004-05, has been placed in the Library of the House. The figures presented are for completed new dwellings and are broken down by tenure.

Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the main obstacles to the building of affordable housing in rural areas.

Yvette Cooper: In July 2005 my Department and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs set up the Affordable Rural Housing Commission to inquire into the scale, nature and implications of the shortage of affordable housing for rural communities in England and to make recommendations to address unmet need.
	The Commission reported in May 2006 setting out its findings, including barriers to the supply of affordable housing in rural areas. The Government aim to respond constructively to the agenda it has set using a range of channels and mechanisms, including the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 39WS, on the Housing Act 2004, why the guidance to local authorities was not published on her departmental website on 6 July.

Yvette Cooper: The guidance note on empty dwelling management orders was available on request on Thursday 6 July and was subsequently posted on the Department for Communities and Local Government website on Monday 10 July.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many properties have been  (a) bought and  (b) part-bought under the social homebuy scheme;
	(2)  how many  (a) local authorities and  (b) housing associations are offering the social homebuy scheme.

Meg Munn: The social homebuy scheme became available in April 2006 and provides a new opportunity for tenants of participating local authorities and housing associations to purchase a share in their home. The scheme is currently being offered by 42 housing associations and one local authority. My officials are in discussions with other local authorities which have expressed an interest in social homebuy. The Housing Corporation plans to hold a further bidding round in the autumn to enable more housing associations to participate.
	To date, there has been one completed sale in the housing association sector. The purchaser bought outright with the available discount. More sales are expected shortly. Although a number of local authority tenants have applied to buy shares in their homes, no sales have yet been completed.

Housing

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much she has allocated to  (a) Newham's Local Space initiative,  (b) Ealing's Safe Haven partnership and  (c) L&Q Housing Trust's HILS programme; what targets were set for these programmes for the number of families in temporary accommodation to be provided with settled homes; how many families in temporary accommodation have been provided with settled homes through each programme; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The London borough of Newham created a registered social landlord called Local Space to acquire properties to be leased to the council for temporary occupation. Local Space received a social housing grant allocation from the Housing Corporation in 2005-06 totalling £25 million over two years to acquire a minimum of 1,000 properties.
	Ealing's Safe Haven London, a charity specially established for the purpose, is to acquire houses and flats over a two-year period, including some new build stock and lease them back to the council under an arrangement which provides for the transfer of the properties to a housing association at expiry of the lease. The project does not benefit from a Housing Corporation grant, or any other grant. To date 50 properties have been purchased and occupied.
	The London and Quadrant Housing Trust (LQHT) homelessness initiative leasing scheme (HILS) is a programme which commenced in 2003-04, administered by the Housing Corporation and was designed to help eliminate the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation as temporary housing. Its remit was to deliver 500 units at a cost of £17.5 million.
	The trust has delivered 401 units in agreed local authority areas, which they have leased back to the local authority for a period of 10 years. The local authority nominates households who would otherwise be housed in bed and breakfast to be accommodated in these units.
	Building on these initiatives, £30 million will be made available through an extra homes pilot in London to help families move from temporary accommodation into settled homes. Detailed guidance on submitting proposals for this pilot will be issued later in the year.

Housing

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority and housing association homes were  (a) sold,  (b) demolished and  (c) added to the public sector rented housing stock in each housing local authority area in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1996-97.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The numbers of local authority (LA) dwellings sold in each year since 1998-99 are published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/383/Table648Excel545Kb_idl156383.xls.
	Information on years prior to those shown is not readily available. The numbers of registered social landlord (RSL) social rent dwellings sold in each year since 1997-98 are shown in table A.
	The numbers of social units for rent (LA & RSL) demolished in Yorkshire and the Humber as reported by local authorities in each year from 2000-01 to 2004-05 are shown in table B. Information for years prior to those shown is not readily available.
	Public sector social units for rent are provided with funding from central Government and through planning agreements (S106) between councils and developers. For the number provided with Government funding in each year I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil Mr. Laws on 21 March 2006,  Official Report, column 279W. For the numbers of social units for rent provided without any government funding through section 106 planning agreements please see table C. Information is available only for the years shown.
	
		
			  Table A: Sales of Registered Social Landlord social rent stock through, preserved right-to-buy, rent to mortgage and right-to-acquire 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Barnsley 2 0 2 1 0 3 10 2 
			 Bradford 5 7 8 12 5 20 594 578 
			 Calderdale 1 2 4 1 172 167 243 241 
			 Craven 0 0 1 0 0 1 26 21 
			 Doncaster 6 3 0 1 4 5 2 1 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 3 0 1 0 2 3 1 
			 Hambleton 41 51 60 49 42 34 47 12 
			 Harrogate 2 3 7 4 1 4 3 2 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1 1 5 4 6 1 5 5 
			 Kirklees 4 3 4 3 4 4 7 3 
			 Leeds 7 12 14 16 16 18 30 13 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 1 0 1 0 0 2 11 3 
			 Richmondshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rotherham 1 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 
			 Ryedale 24 26 50 23 21 10 7 11 
			 Scarborough 0 0 0 0 0 3 24 120 
			 Selby 1 0 1 3 2 2 3 1 
			 Sheffield 10 10 9 18 13 12 14 17 
			 Wakefield 1 6 10 14 2 8 2 2 
			 York 39 31 13 10 8 5 8 4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 146 158 190 164 296 303 1,039 1,038 
			  Note: Information on years prior to those shown is not readily available. There may be a small number of RSL sales to the private sector which do not appear in the table as this information is not held centrally. Some RSLs with small numbers of stock are not required to provided this information and therefore if there have been any sales to sitting tenants they aren't included above.   Source: Returns from the Housing Corporation to the Department for Communities and Local Government (RSR). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Demolitions of Social Rent stock, 2000-01 to 2004-05 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Barnsley 0 210 n/a 177 133 
			 Bradford 284 383 550 77 61 
			 Calderdale 255 86 34 143 200 
			 Craven 0 n/a n/a 0 0 
			 Doncaster 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hambleton 0 38 n/a 0 0 
			 Harrogate 0 0 21 0 0 
			 Kingston upon Hull 0 950 n/a 252 476 
			 Kirklees 0 n/a 100 141 0 
			 Leeds 866 322 652 256 290 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 n/a 5 4 2 
			 North Lincolnshire 150 1 7 0 n/a 
			 Richmondshire 0 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Rotherham 159 n/a 152 38 125 
			 Ryedale 0 n/a n/a 0 0 
			 Scarborough 160 n/a 117 10 0 
			 Selby 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sheffield 1000 923 n/a n/a 1398 
			 Wakefield 74 56 93 127 163 
			 York 0 n/a 0 0 0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,948 2,969 1,731 1,225 2,848 
			  n/a = Not available   Source: Returns from local authorities to the Department for Communities and Local Government (HFR). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Social Rent units provided through S106 agreements with no central funding 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Barnsley 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bradford 0 0 0 8 7 
			 Calderdale 0 15 11 5 6 
			 Craven 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Doncaster 6 9 11 0 0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 0 3 26 21 
			 Hambleton 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Harrogate 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kingston upon Hull 0 0 0 0 14 
			 Kirklees 3 3 19 14 0 
			 Leeds 48 29 29 10 49 
			 North East Lincolnshire 7 5 0 0 16 
			 North Lincolnshire 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Richmondshire 0 0 0 0 6 
			 Rotherham 0 0 13 6 0 
			 Ryedale 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Scarborough 0 3 0 0 0 
			 Selby 0 0 0 0 11 
			 Sheffield 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wakefield 10 2 3 0 10 
			 York 8 57 46 84 102 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 82 123 135 154 237 
			  Source: Returns from local authorities to the Department for Communities and Local Government (HSSA).

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the time scale is for the introduction of choice-based lettings; what the results were of the pilot projects; and how she expects the policy to operate in rural areas, where there is a shortage of social housing.

Meg Munn: The Government have set a target for all local authorities to operate choice-based lettings by 2010; and an interim target of 25 per cent. of local authorities by 2005. As at April 2005 some 27 per cent. of local authorities said that they offered choice-based lettings.
	The report of the evaluation of the pilot schemes was published in May 2004, and showed that they were successful in achieving their aim of establishing more open systems that are seen to offer customers choice. They also did not appear to disadvantage vulnerable households, who continue to access a significant proportion of vacant properties and often bid successfully for the most popular, and led to improvements in housing management performance with, for example, re-let times reducing substantially in some areas.
	Choice-based lettings schemes have already been operating for some time in a number of rural areas including Cornwall, Herefordshire and Wiltshire.

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information facilities will be made available to ensure that tenants have knowledge of stock availability under the introduction of choice-based lettings.

Yvette Cooper: Choice-based lettings schemes use a variety of media to advertise available vacancies, including websites, newspapers, free sheets, property shops and telephone services. Adverts will include brief details about the property and may include details about the area. In addition, schemes will usually publish feedback information for each advertised property that has been let, such as the number of bids received and the priority level of successful applicants, to help home seekers make judgments about which properties to bid for in future.
	The transparency that choice-based letting schemes offer means that the amount, location and type of all stock available should be made easily available for home seekers.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value was of each IT contract awarded by her Department and its predecessor was in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case.

Angela Smith: This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which IT contracts awarded by her Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Meg Munn: Since May 2002 no strategically important IT contracts have been abandoned by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Information prior to the inception of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (May 2002) is not readily available.

Judicial Reviews

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what occasions an  (a) individual and  (b) organisation has applied for a judicial review of decisions of her Department in each year since 1997; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed.

Meg Munn: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only by disproportionate cost.

Key Workers

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of people under 30 are categorised as key workers, broken down by region.

Yvette Cooper: We do not hold data on the percentage of people under 30 years who are categorised as key workers. This information is held by key worker employers.
	A full list of eligible key worker employers for the key worker living programme can be found in Annexe B of the capital funding guide on the Housing Corporation website www.housingcorp.gov.uk.

Life Expectancy

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to tackle low life expectancy in areas of deprivation.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 July 2006
	My Department has a specific role in improving health in deprived areas through a range of policies and programmes which impact on the determinants of health. We have been supporting and investing in these areas since 2001, through the neighbourhood renewal fund. Local strategic partnerships are responsible for allocating these resources on local priorities to tackle inequalities, and most have prioritised specific funding to improve health, or funding aimed at tackling some of the wider determinants of ill health.

Local Government

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on peer mentors for local authority members in  (a) the second quarter of 2005-06,  (b) the third quarter of 2005-06 and  (c) the first quarter of 2006-07, broken down by local authority.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not available and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has given local authorities on whether they should have a cabinet member with a specific public health brief.

Phil Woolas: No such guidance has been issued.

Local Government

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the merits of integrating the delivery of street cleansing, waste collection, waste disposal and waste planning by local authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA has not assessed in detail the merits of integrating these services. However, we are aware of a number of studies which show that where waste collection and waste disposal are split between two tiers of local government, there can be real benefits in authorities working together to deliver an integrated waste service. For example, a recent report by the Innovation Forum, a group of excellent rated authorities, highlights the benefits of joint working on waste in two-tier areas, citing possible efficiency savings of up to £150 million nationally.
	Our consultation on the waste strategy review stresses the need for joint working between authorities, integrating strategy development and spatial planning. The Government are considering further how we can facilitate joint working by authorities.
	Partnership working is one of the ways local authorities can realise the £300 million of efficiency savings identified in the Gershon review from waste and street cleansing during the period 2005 to 2008. The Department for Communities and Local Government strategic partnering taskforce's final report, published in 2004, said that strategic partnerships are one of the main service delivery options available to local authorities in their quest for efficient and effective high quality services.

Luton Town Football Club

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department and its predecessor has had within the last 12 months with  (a) representatives of the board of Luton Town Football Club,  (b) the chief executive of Luton Town Football Club,  (c) representatives of Luton borough council,  (d) representatives of South Bedfordshire district council,  (e) representatives of Bedfordshire county council,  (f) representatives of the East of England development agency and  (g) representatives of the East of England regional assembly regarding the proposal to relocate Luton Town Football Club; what representations have been received from each; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessor have received no representations from the organisations identified in the question. Luton borough council, and neighbouring authorities, have briefed the Government office on the proposal but no advice was sought, nor any offered. As the application may be referred to the Secretary of State for her consideration, it would be inappropriate to comment on the merits of the proposal.

Millennium Dome

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) the Deputy Prime Minister and  (b) another Minister within the former Department decided whether or not to call in the Meridian Delta/AEG planning application for the millennium dome to Greenwich borough council.

Yvette Cooper: Holding answer 11 July 2006
	I took the decision to leave the planning application to Greenwich borough council to determine.

Ministerial Meetings

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she last met her Scottish counterpart; and what subjects were discussed.

Angela Smith: The Secretary of State last spoke to her Scottish counterpart, Malcolm Chisholm MSP, on 12 June 2006. They discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.

National Land

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effect of Ordnance Survey's MasterMap products on the commercial and financial viability of the National Land and Property Gazetteer.

Phil Woolas: No assessment has been made.

National Land

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the estimated total cost is of the National Land Use Database;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the  (a) status and  (b) introduction of the National Land Use Database.

Meg Munn: There are two projects under the National Land Use Database heading. One is the National Land Use Database of Previously-Developed Land (NLUD-PDL). This was launched in 1998 and has been an annual survey since 2001. The latest report is on the Department's website at: www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l147698.
	The other is the Full National Land Use Database, also known as NLUD-Baseline. This would show land use and, separately, land cover for all land parcels in England. The Department for Communities and Local Government has funded developmental work, a report on which is on the Department's website at: www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l161713.
	At present there are no plans to implement the full database. A simplified version, the Generalised Land Use Database has, however, been created and is available on the website at: www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l146084.
	NLUD-PDL is run jointly by the Department and English Partnerships. English Partnerships carries out the data collection at a cost of £250,000 a year. It is not known what the cost of Full NLUD would be. This would depend on the outcome of competitive tendering, the scope of the database and the potential for cost recovery through sales. As stated, however, there are no plans to implement Full NLUD.

New Growths Points Programme

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the new growth points programme; and where the development will be located.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement on the new growth points programme which I made on 20 June.
	The new growth points programme is aimed at areas of high demand that are additional to and outside the existing growth areas, which include London.

Oil-fired Equipment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to raise standards for installation and servicing of oil-fired equipment.

Angela Smith: My Department is responsible for the installation of oil fired equipment through the building regulations which set standards for safety and energy efficiency. Safety improvements were introduced in April 2002 and additional changes introduced in April 2005 mean that from April 2007 more energy efficient condensing oil boilers will normally be required.
	To improve compliance my Department is working to attract more installers into approved competent persons schemes which demand reasonable standards of expertise and enable the self-certification of compliance.
	Environmental issues are becoming more important however and the Government are looking to see how better maintenance could be achieved in the future.
	Servicing is a matter for equipment owners but to assist in this the building regulations require that chimneys and flues should be labelled with their safe performance limits and oil tanks should be labelled with advice on dealing with spills. My Department also produces a leaflet for householders encouraging routine servicing of combustion appliances and flues to avoid the dangers that can otherwise arise.

Olympic Delivery Authority Partner

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in her Department have held meetings with representatives of companies or consortia on the shortlist for the contract as the Olympic Delivery Authority deliver partner; which (i) Ministers and (ii) companies or consortia partners attended each meeting; what the location was of each meeting; what was discussed at each meeting; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: holding answer 24 July 2006
	Department for Communities and Local Government officials have regular meetings with developers and housing companies in order to take forward the government's regeneration agenda but no meetings have taken place with any of the companies or consortia regarding contracts for the Olympic Delivery Authority partner.

Ordnance Survey

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the grounds for non-compliance were in the bid by the Ordnance Survey to supply geographical information to the Government.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The procurement process for the replacement pan- Government agreement is not yet complete.

Ordnance Survey

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government have to review the pan-Government agreement with Ordnance Survey.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has undertaken a competitive procurement for the replacement of the existing pan-Government agreement with Ordnance Survey. DCLG is currently consulting with pan-Government agreement members on the procurement and on future arrangements for the provision of geographic information to Government.

Ordnance Survey

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contracts Ordnance Survey has entered into with  (a) Infoterra Limited and  (b) BlueSky International Limited since 1997; and for what purpose.

Angela Smith: Since 1997, Ordnance Survey has entered into the following contracts with Infoterra Limited:
	Imagery supply contract for the supply of digital imagery of England for the OS MasterMap imagery layer. This contract is with Infoterra as a partner in the joint venture company UK Perspectives.
	Imagery hosting contract for the edge matching and colour balancing of imagery, hosting services and supply of data to customers.
	Ordnance Survey has not entered into any direct contract with BlueSky International Limited.

Ordnance Survey

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) information and  (b) products Ordnance Survey has provided to the Valuation Office Agency in the last five years.

Angela Smith: The Valuation Office Agency is a signatory to the pan-Government agreement and has licensed access to coverage of Great Britain of the following Ordnance Survey datasets:
	 Large Scale Detailed Mapping
	OS MasterMap Topographic Layer
	OS MasterMap Integrated Transport Network Layer
	OS MasterMap Address Layer
	Land-Line
	1:10000 Scale Raster
	 Small Scale Mapping
	1:25000 Scale Colour Raster
	1:50000 Scale Colour Raster
	1:250000 Scale Colour Raster
	Strategi
	Meridian 2
	 Location Mapping
	MiniScale
	 Address Referencing
	Address-Point
	Code-Point and Code-Point with polygons
	 Roads
	OSCAR Asset-Manager
	OSCAR Traffic Manager
	 Boundary Data
	Boundary-Line
	 Height Data
	Land-Form Profile

Ordnance Survey

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many satellite photographs Ordnance Survey  (a) took and  (b) purchased from external suppliers in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: Ordnance Survey has not taken any satellite photographs in the last five years nor has it used satellite photography for production purposes. However, it has evaluated the potential of satellite imagery to meet future business needs. This includes an assessment of data from the Quickbird, Ikonos and Spot 5 high resolution satellites for potential use in change detection and feature extraction applications.

Parks Funding

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued to local authorities on the prioritisation of funding for parks.

Phil Woolas: Public parks and green spaces are primarily funded by local authorities through unhypothecated formula grant. Central Government do not dictate how much should be spent by each local authority on their parks; this is clearly a matter for them to determine in line with local priorities.
	We have made more money available for parks over the past five years, through revenue support, the liveability fund, and the safer and stronger communities fund. We have also provided support to local authorities to improve the quality of their parks through the CABE space-enabling scheme and the how to programme.
	The quality of urban parks has improved since 2000, as recognised by the recent NAO report, 'Enhancing Urban Green Spaces'. We remain committed to supporting local authorities to deliver quality parks and green spaces through our cleaner, safer, greener communities programme.

Planning Delivery Grant

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to change the methodology for the allocation of planning delivery grant.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement titled 'Housing and Planning Delivery Grant' which was made to the House on 24 July. This statement announced the launch of a consultation on proposals for a new housing and planning delivery grant and the proposed criteria for allocations for the final year of the current planning delivery grant. The document entitled 'Housing and Planning Delivery Grant Consultation Paper' and the corresponding document 'Planning Delivery Grant 2007/08: Proposed Allocations Criteria' are available in the Libraries of the House.

Post Office

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to her answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 127W, on Post Office network services 
	(1)  what activity required to answer the question most contributed to her estimate of disproportionate cost;
	(2)  what services her Department makes available through the Post Office network.

Meg Munn: The Department for Communities and Local Government currently lets no contracts with Post Office Ltd. or Post Office Counters Ltd. Our principal predecessor Department—the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister—was established in 2002 and made one transaction with Post Office Ltd. during that year.
	As was indicated in the earlier answer, the information requested in the hon. Member's original question is not held centrally. Our judgment is that it would entail disproportionate cost to check with individual teams across the Department and its associated public bodies for the period and range of activity covered by the original question.

Questionnaires

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) questionnaires,  (b) statistical inquiries and  (c) investigations have been carried out wholly or partly at public expense on behalf of or by her Department or public bodies for which she is responsible in each year since 1997; and what the (i) nature, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost was of each.

Angela Smith: The information requested could be collated centrally only at disproportionate cost.

Renewable Energy Generators

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what additional scope she plans to give to individual households under the planning system to install renewable energy generators in houses.

Angela Smith: Works carried out inside a house do not generally require planning permission. Whether external work would be permitted without a planning consent would depend on the type of microgeneration technology proposed and the particular circumstances of the case. The Government have announced a review of this area in response to concerns that the current legislation as to what is allowed without planning permission is both too restrictive and too vague. We want far more microgeneration to be classified as permitted development and we plan to consult on the detail of the proposals for change later this year.

Right to Buy

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will suspend the right to buy in areas where demand for affordable rented housing exceeds the availability of such properties; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Government support the principle of right to buy and have no plans to change the scheme in that way. The Government are introducing social home buy so that more tenants can have the chance to buy a share of their home.

Sexual Orientation Regulations

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the sexual orientation regulations will require  (a) Anglican Churches and  (b) Churches of other denominations to perform civil partnership services in their churches; whether the regulations will apply to teaching in Sunday schools; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 24 July 2006
	A consultation on proposals to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services through regulations to be made under part 3 of the Equality Act closed on 5 June. The consultation made clear that the Government considers that it is very important that the application of these regulations to religious activities should be clearly defined and understood and proposed that activities closely linked to religious observance or practices that arise from the basic doctrines of a faith should be exempted from the regulations. The proposed exemption for religious organisations will be available to both Anglican Churches and Churches of other denominations and we are currently considering what activities should be covered by the exemption in the light of the consultation findings.
	A civil partnership cannot be registered on religious premises. Registering a civil partnership is an entirely secular process and the Civil Partnership Act prohibits any religious service from taking place during the registration.

Sheree Dodd

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1759W, on Sheree Dodd, what recruitment process was undertaken to fill the vacancy of interim head of news.

Meg Munn: The directorate of communication approached Sheree Dodd to work as an interim head of news for the Department for Communities and Local Government while a full Civil Service recruitment process was completed. This was a short-term role and required a person with expertise and recent knowledge of Whitehall. Sheree Dodd was approached as she had previously filled a similar role for another Government Department. Sheree Dodd's employment as the Department for Communities and Local Government head of news has now terminated and the permanent post has been filled following a Whitehall competition.

Sheree Dodd

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1759W, on Sheree Dodd, on what pay scale Sheree Dodd is paid.

Meg Munn: The terms of contracts between the Department for Communities and Local Government and individuals are private matters.

Sheree Dodd

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1759W, on Sheree Dodd, whether Sheree Dodd  (a) has provided and  (b) continues to provide press support to the Deputy Prime Minister since the changes to the machinery of government.

Meg Munn: The information is as follows.
	 (a) The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) press office provided interim support to the Deputy Prime Minister's press office until the recent machinery of government changes were completed. As interim DCLG head of news during that period, Sheree Dodd occasionally provided support to the Deputy Prime Minister's press office.
	 (b) Sheree Dodd is no longer head of news at the DCLG.

Thames Gateway Partnership

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish the minutes of the meeting on 28 February 2006 between officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and organisations from the Thames Gateway partnership; what the  (a) name and  (b) job title was of each person attending; and what organisation each represented.

Yvette Cooper: No meeting of the Thames Gateway strategic partnership took place on 28 February 2006. However, a meeting of the Thames Gateway Kent Partnership took place, at which the Department for Communities and Local Government (then the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) attended.
	The draft minutes of this meeting will be placed in the Library and the names, titles and organisations of those who attended are as tabled:
	
		
			  Name  Representing  Title/organisation 
			 Mr. Rob Bennett Thames Gateway Kent Partnership (TGKP) (Chair) Director, BBP Regeneration 
			 Cllr Andrew Bowles Swale Forward (Vice Chair) Leader, Swale Borough Council 
			 Cllr John Burden Kent Thameside Delivery Board Leader, Gravesham Borough Council 
			 Cllr Rodney Chambers Medway Renaissance Partnership Leader, Medway Council 
			 Cllr Mrs. Jane Chitty Medway Council Councillor, Medway Council 
			 Mr. Paul Clark Member of Parliament Member of Parliament 
			 Mr. Barry Clout Medway Renaissance Partnership Executive Officer, Kent Council for Voluntary Youth Service 
			 Mr. Christopher Crook Medway Renaissance Partnership (representing Alan Cherry) Managing Director, Countryside Properties 
			 Cllr John Davies Kent County Council (representing Graham Gibbens) Councillor, Kent County Council 
			 Mr. Paul Hudson South East England Development Agency Director of Development and Infrastructure, SEEDA 
			 Cllr Tony Martin Kent Thameside Delivery Board Councillor, Dartford Borough Council 
			 Mr. Peter Southcombe North Kent Community Forum Chair, North Kent Community Forum 
			 Ms Christine White Swale Forward Director, Swale Volunteer and Community Development Centre 
			
			  Observers:   
			 Mr. Harvey Bradshaw Environment Agency Kent Area Manager, Environment Agency 
			 Mr. Gwyn Drake Highways Agency Divisional Director, Highways Agency 
			 Mr. Ben Stoneman ODPM (now DCLG) North Kent Programme Manager, Thames Gateway Delivery Unit 
			
			  Also present:   
			 Ms Judith Armitt Medway Council Chief Executive, Medway Council 
			 Mr. Mark Bilsborough Swale Borough Council Chief Executive, Swale Borough Council 
			 Mr. Padraig Herlihy Sport England South East Head of Strategic Planning and Partnerships, Sport England South East 
			 Mr. Alex Homfray Culture Thames Gateway North Kent Cultural Co-Coordinator, Culture Thames Gateway North Kent 
			 Mr. David Liston-Jones TGKP Chief Executive, Thames Gateway Kent Partnership 
			 Mr. Greg MacDonald Swale Forward Programme Director, Swale Forward 
			 Mr. Pete Raine Kent County Council Director of Strategic Planning, Kent County Council 
			 Miss Linda Searle TGKP Personal Assistant, TGKP 
			 Mr. David Tuck Genecon Partner, Genecon 
			 Mr. Michael Ward Kent Thameside Delivery Board Chief Executive, Kent Thameside Delivery Board 
			 Mr. Alan Watkins Press Reporter, Kent Messenger 
			 Mr. Jim Wintour Gravesham Borough Council Managing Director, Gravesham Borough Council

Urban and Economic Development Group

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department and its predecessors have provided to the urban and economic development group since 1997; and for what purposes.

Phil Woolas: Since 1997, the Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors have paid a total of £488,000 to the Urban and Economic Development Group (URBED) Ltd. for a number of research consultancy projects. These have included:
	(i) Living Places: Urban Renaissance in the South East—a guide to best practice in urban renaissance in towns and cities in south east England;
	(ii) Changing Places Project—to disseminate examples of good practice in urban renaissance by setting up and maintaining a website of case studies and holding symposia/ workshops on urban renaissance themes;
	(iii) Towns and Cities: Partners in Urban Renaissance—to explore the different challenges and lessons learnt from delivering urban renaissance in 24 partner towns and cities;
	(iv) Assessing Urban Housing Capacity—a guide to better practice to accompany Planning Policy Guidance 3: Housing;
	(v) Strategies for Smaller Centres—to provide examples of town centre renaissance for inclusion in forthcoming better practice guidance to accompany Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres.

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) locality definitions and  (b) neighbourhood adjustment factors are used in the Valuation Office Agency's automated valuation model.

Phil Woolas: A "locality", within the Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) automated valuation model is a contiguous geographic space or area within which the dwellings are considered to be subject to the same or similar market forces. Localities have been defined (or delineated) by experienced chartered surveyors employed within the VOA using their market and valuation knowledge.
	Locality adjustment factors are used in regression to establish relative differences among localities (the term "neighbourhood" was initially used to describe what the VOA now calls localities). The locality adjustment factor is a logarithmic variable applied to each of approximately 10,000 localities. Every locality has a locality adjustment factor derived from the average value, and average size, of dwellings in the locality at a required point in time.

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the multiple regression formula used as part of the Valuation Office Agency's Automated valuation model is; and what each variable in the model is.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) automated valuation model (AVM) is designed to use sales to determine the relationship between sale price and property attributes, so that it may subsequently be used to predict property values from recorded property attribute data. The agency's multiple regression models have a log linear structure and the calibrated multiple regression formula looks like this:
	Ln (Y) = a + b1X1 + b2X2 + b3X3 . . .
	Where:
	Y = Property price
	Ln = Natural logarithm
	Xl,2,3 = Property attribute 1,2,3 etc
	b1,2,3 = Coefficient 1,2,3 etc
	a = Constant
	Variables in the model are derived from the property attribute data and will differ by billing authority area. Details of variables could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many value significant codes are available for capture electronically by the Valuation Office Agency for council tax liability purposes.

Phil Woolas: Value significant codes are used by the Valuation Office agency to support decisions on banding. The agency does not have any responsibility for liability, which is a function of local government. For further detail I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 9 January 2006,  Official Report, column 274W to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) and the reply given on 26 April 2006,  Official Report, column 1171W to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what access the Valuation Office Agency has to the national land use database.

Phil Woolas: None

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times the joint Valuation Office Agency and Local Government Association steering group have met.

Phil Woolas: The joint Valuation Office Agency and Local Government Association steering group has met on 11 occasions, between May 2001 and June 2005, largely to discuss the preparations for the 2005 non-domestic rating revaluation.

Voluntary and Community Sector

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister gave to the Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector in each year since 1997; and what plans her Department has to provide funding.

Phil Woolas: No funding was made centrally by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to the Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector (ARVCS). We have no current plans to provide funding to ARVCS in future.

DEFENCE

Active Duty (Deployment)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of service personnel were deployed on active duty in  (a) January and  (b) July of each year since 1976.

Tom Watson: The most current figures collected from manual records show that on 11 July 2006 the deployment of UK service personnel on operations overseas was:
	
		
			  Service  Number of personnel deployed 
			 All Services 15,170 
			 Naval Service 1,760 
			 Army 11,240 
			 RAF 2,180 
			  Notes:  1. Data are rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent disclosure of sensitive information.  2. Figures include mobilised reservists. 
		
	
	Figures for the number of deployed UK service personnel are not available in a consistent time series; however, percentages of service personnel undertaking operations and other military tasks are published in the Ministry of Defence annual report and accounts.
	Figures from 2001-02 to 2005-06 are shown in the following tables, which have been extracted from each annual report. Summary information for 1998-99 and 1999-2000 was published in the respective Ministry of Defence performance reports (CM4520, CM5000), copies of which are available in the Library of the House. This information was not compiled on a comparable basis to those set out as follows.
	Quarterly information for years predating the 1998 strategic defence review is not held centrally.
	The figures given as follows report the percentage of regular armed forces undertaking operations and other military tasks. These figures are quarterly averages and are calculated by comparing the number of personnel undertaking operations and other military tasksagainst the total strength of the armed forces. Figures for 2005-06 are collated using a different methodology, and are therefore not comparable.
	
		
			  Percentage of regular armed forces undertaking operations and other military tasks( 1)  during 2005-06( 2,3) 
			  Percentage 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 Naval Service 11.6 9.3 12.1 13.5 
			 Army 21.0 22.0 22.8 25.1 
			 RAF 13.3 11.9 12.3 13.4 
			 (1) Includes activities such as nuclear deterrence, military aid to the Civil Authorities and to the Civil Powers in Northern Ireland, integrity of UK waters and airspace, defence and security of the overseas territories and of the Cyprus sovereign base areas and defence relations, alliances and support to wider British interests.  (2 )These figures are quarterly averages and reflect the burden of activity imposed by the operations and military tasks undertaken by each service. Figures are based on man-day equivalents.  (3 )Percentages include personnel in preparation for and recovering from operations (e.g. in the case of the Army it takes account of those on pre-operational training and post-operational leave). 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of trained strength of regular forces deployed on operations and other military tasks( 1)  during 2004-05( 2,3) 
			  Percentage 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 Naval Service 16.8 13.2 13.3 11.6 
			 Army 23.7 22.1 21.4 21.2 
			 RAF 11.8 12.0 13.5 13.4 
			 (1) Includes activities such as nuclear deterrence, military aid to the Civil Authorities and to the Civil Powers in Northern Ireland, integrity of UK waters and airspace, defence and security of the overseas territories and of the Cyprus sovereign base areas and Defence relations, alliances and support to wider British interests.  (2 )These figures are quarterly averages and reflect the burden of activity imposed by the operations and military tasks undertaken by each service. Figures are based on man-day equivalents.  (3 )Percentages exclude those either preparing for, or recovering from, deployments. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of trained strength of regular forces deployed on operations and other military tasks( 1)  during 2003-04( 2,3) 
			  Percentage 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 Naval Service 18.7 12.8 14.0 17.7 
			 Army 46.9 23.2 22.9 22.6 
			 RAF 16.5 13.0 12.9 12.1 
			 (1) Includes activities such as nuclear deterrence, military aid to the Civil Authorities and to the Civil Powers in Northern Ireland, integrity of UK waters and airspace, defence and security of the overseas territories and of the Cyprus sovereign base areas and Defence relations, alliances and support to wider British interests.  (2 )These figures are quarterly averages and reflect the burden of activity imposed by the operations and military tasks undertaken by each service. Figures are based on man-day equivalents.  (3 )Percentages exclude those either preparing for, or recovering from, deployments. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of trained strength of regular forces deployed on operations and other military tasks( 1)  during 2002-03( 2,3) 
			  Percentage 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 Naval Service 17.5 13.0 16.5 28.5 
			 Army 24.6 23.9 32.5 55.6 
			 RAF 12.6 10.9 19.1 21.8 
			 (1) Includes activities such as nuclear deterrence, military aid to the Civil Authorities and to the Civil Powers in Northern Ireland, integrity of UK waters and airspace, defence and security of the overseas territories and of the Cyprus sovereign base areas and Defence relations, alliances and support to wider British interests.  (2 )These figures are quarterly averages and reflect the burden of activity imposed by the operations and military tasks undertaken by each service. Figures are based on man-day equivalents.  (3 )Percentages exclude those either preparing for, or recovering from, deployments. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of trained strength of regular forces deployed on operations and other military tasks( 1)  during 2001-02( 2,3,4) 
			  Percentage 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 Naval Service 9.5 8.4 16.7 15.7 
			 Army 21.8 25.6 26.3 23.9 
			 RAF 11.9 12.2 13.6 13.1 
			 (1) Includes activities such as nuclear deterrence, military aid to the Civil Authorities and to the Civil Powers in Northern Ireland, integrity of UK waters and airspace, defence and security of the overseas territories and of the Cyprus sovereign base areas and Defence relations, alliances and support to wider British interests.  (2 )These figures are quarterly averages and reflect the burden of activity imposed by the operations and military tasks undertaken by each service. Figures are based on man-day equivalents. (3) 2001-02 figures include personnel on Exercise SAIF SAREEAII.  (4) Percentages exclude those either preparing for, or recovering from, deployments.

Aerial Photography

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the security services have access to high-resolution  (a) aerial and  (b) satellite photography of domestic English properties and English landscapes.

Des Browne: I am withholding this information as it relates to bodies dealing with security matters.

Afghanistan

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the minimum time is for notification to units designated for tours of Afghanistan that they are earmarked to serve in  (a) 16th Air Assault Brigade and  (b) other posts in theatre.

Des Browne: Units can generally expect to receive at least six months' warning, and individual augmentees 90 days' warning, for operational tours, including Afghanistan. However, the size and shape offerees required in any operational theatre is kept under review, and adjusted as appropriate. There will therefore be occasions when units or individuals are required to deploy at much shorter notice.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with  (a) his counterparts in other NATO countries,  (b) the NATO Secretary-General and  (c) his counterparts in other non-NATO countries on force generation for deployment in Helmand province, Afghanistan in the last three months; what the outcome of these discussions has been to date; whether they are ongoing; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 6 July 2006
	As a result of the NATO force generation process held in 2005 and 2006, Denmark and Estonia have already deployed forces to Helmand province alongside the UK as part of the NATO-led international security assistance force (ISAF).
	I continue to have regular discussions with the NATO Secretary-General, NATO allies and with other ISAF troop contributing nations on force generation for ISAF, including, where appropriate, for Helmand province. These discussions include bilateral meetings and the regular meetings of NATO Defence Ministers, the last of which took place on 8 June.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment was made of the  (a) strength and  (b) fighting capability of (i) Taliban and (ii) other illegal armed groups prior to the announcement of further troop deployment on 26th January 2006.

Des Browne: The Government's view then, as now, was that the Taliban and other illegally armed groups do not pose a long-term strategic threat to Afghanistan, though they do represent a significant impediment to the country's near-term reconstruction, particularly in the south. That is why we have deployed a substantial number of UK forces to enable the expansion of the NATO-led international security assistance force into that area.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the level of support for armed groups in Helmand from  (a) Iran and  (b) Pakistan.

Des Browne: We have no credible evidence of direct support by the Pakistan or Iranian Governments to insurgents in Helmand province in Afghanistan. There is, however, some indication that armed groups in Helmand receive support from sympathisers and associates in neighbouring countries.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral statement of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1131-48, on Afghanistan (troop levels), how many combat personnel will be deployed as part of the additional deployment to Helmand province; and when they will arrive.

Des Browne: The majority of the additional forces that I announced on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1131-35W, are deploying to maintain momentum on reconstruction activity or to provide associated support to that task. Around 260 personnel will be dedicated to force protection or security tasks.

Ammunition

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many live shells and bombs have been used by UK forces in the last three years.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Annington Homes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many homes have been sold by the Ministry of Defence to Annington Homes  (a) in England and  (b) at Colchester in the last five years.

Tom Watson: In 1996, the Ministry of Defence sold and leased back 57,428 houses in England and Wales to Annington Homes Limited (AHL). A provision of the 1996 sale agreement is that when MOD terminates the leasehold interest in properties it no longer requires, it also completes the freehold transfer of the properties to AHL. Since April 2001, just over 5,300 properties have been handed back to AHL in England and Wales, including 255 properties in Colchester.

Anti-Armour Missile Systems

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the  (a) Brimstone and  (b) Maverick anti-armour missile system meets in full the RAF's anti-armour requirements.

Adam Ingram: Our anti-armour requirements are met by a range of air and land systems and are not defined by service. The RAF's contribution to meeting this requirement is currently offered by Brimstone on Tornado GR4; Maverick on Harrier GR7; and the RBL755 and BL755 bombs on Jaguar GR3a, Harrier GR7 and Tornado GR4.

Armed Forces (Fit for Task)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force personnel were fit for task in every year since 2003.

Adam Ingram: The fit for task figure provides a quarterly measure of all trained personnel that are considered medically fit for the task they were posted to their ship/unit/station to perform. It is the balance of the trained strength that is not medically downgraded. It is important to note, however, that the majority of medically downgraded personnel remain fit enough to work in some other capacity. For example, for the first quarter of year 2006-07 whereas 94.5 per cent. 83.7 per cent. and 90.2 per cent. of Royal Navy, Army and RAF personnel respectively were fit for task, only approximately 0.5 per cent. in each Service were considered unfit for any military duties. The remainder were not fully fit for task, but still fit to work in some other capacity.
	Figures up to and including 1 April 2005 were collated centrally by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) and give a snapshot of the situation on the first day of each quarter. Since April 2005, the figures have been obtained directly from the three single services and give a snapshot of the situation at one point in time during each quarter. This will usually be a snapshot at the end of each quarter, but the exact reporting date can vary between each service.
	The following tables show the percentage of trained regular(1) personnel in each service that were not medically downgraded in each quarter since January 2003.
	
		
			  Service ( 2) 1 January 2003  1 April 2003  1 July 2003  1 October 2003 
			 Royal Navy 92.3 92.3 92.0 91.9 
			 Army(2) 88.1 87.8 87.5 87.2 
			 RAF 91.9 91.5 90.8 90.9 
			  Source:  DASA (Tri-Service) 
		
	
	
		
			  Service  1 January 2004  1 April 2004  1 July 2004  1 October 2004 
			 Royal Navy 91.6 91.2 90.8 91.2 
			 Army(2) 86.8 86.4 85.9 85.4 
			 RAF 91.2 91.1 91.2 91.0 
			  Source:  DASA (Tri-Service) 
		
	
	
		
			  Service  1 January 2005  1 April 2005 
			 Royal Navy 91.1 91.1 
			 Army(2) 84.9 84.3 
			 RAF 90.9 90.8 
			  Source:  DASA (Tri-Service) 
		
	
	
		
			  Service ( 3) Q1 2005-06  Q2 2005-06  Q3 2005-06  Q4 2005-06 
			 Royal Navy 92.8 93.7 92.9 94.8 
			 Army 85.1 84.7 84.4 84.2 
			 RAF 90.7 90.6 90.3 90.2 
			  Source:  DMSD 
		
	
	
		
			  Service  Q1 2006-07 
			 Royal Navy 94.5 
			 Army 83.7 
			 RAF 90.2 
			 (1) Excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised Reservists. (2) Army figures in the first three tables are for Army Soldiers only (not Officers). (3 ')Q1 2005-06' refers to a snapshot during the period from 1 April 2005 to 30 June 2005, and so on.  Source:  DMSD

Assets Disposal

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to "Releasing the resources to meet the challenge ahead", Cm 6889, what assets he has identified for disposal.

Des Browne: The value for money work conducted by the Ministry of Defence as part of the comprehensive spending review included an initial assessment of additional assets which could be disposed of in the spending review 2004 period (such as the sale of estate in Greater London and of surplus assets linked to redevelopment of Aldershot and Salisbury plain barracks). It also included a broad assessment of the overall value of assets which may become available for disposal in the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. These preliminary assumptions will be refined as part of comprehensive spending review implementation work.

British Troops (Afghanistan)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the cost to families of posting parcels to British troops based in Afghanistan; and if he will provide free postage for small parcels to troops in Afghanistan from their families.

Tom Watson: Recent representations received from hon. Members and members of the public regarding the cost of posting parcels to operational theatres this year are summarised in the following table:
	
		
			   Parliamentary questions  Ministerial correspondence  Treat official correspondence  Total 
			 January — 4 4 8 
			 February — 4 0 4 
			 March — 4 4 8 
			 April — 4 1 5 
			 May — 6 8 14 
			 June — 7 4 11 
		
	
	Free postage for small parcels to service personnel was a temporary feature of the initial deployment of HM forces to Iraq in 2003 which ceased on 8 April 2004 when it was deemed that the complete operational welfare package (which includes access to the expeditionary forces institute (the deployable retail and leisure arm of the NAAFI)) was available.
	Deployment to Afghanistan was part of a long- planned NATO deployment in which operational welfare provision was considered in detail. As a result, those deployed in Afghanistan are in receipt of welfare facilities comparable to other operational theatres worldwide; to provide a free parcel service to those in Afghanistan would not be equitable and would be divisive. Commanders in the theatre of operations do not regard a free postal packet scheme as a priority and would prefer to see available welfare money spent on facilities in theatre.
	As a result of a review in 2005, it was agreed that a free parcel scheme would be provided at Christmas for a short period of approximately four weeks to all overseas operational theatres. An announcement regarding dates for 2006 will be published in the autumn.

Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department have held with directors and senior executives of (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have provided input (1) in writing and (2) in person to policy discussions in his Department since 1 January 2004.

Adam Ingram: No Defence Minister has held a meeting with representatives from Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004. The information on input to policy discussions with officials is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Civil Contingencies Reaction Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current actual strength is of each of the civil contingencies reaction forces.

Des Browne: Detailed figures for civil contingency reaction forces are not routinely collated. The current strength of the Territorial Army is 32,000, from which the civil contingency reaction forces are mainly drawn.

Civil Contingencies Reaction Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel from the volunteer reserves are committed to the civil contingencies reaction force in addition to their normal role.

Des Browne: All personnel who volunteer to participate in a civil contingency reaction force are also committed to undertake other reserves tasks. Personnel who volunteer undertake an additional five days training annually.

Civil Contingencies Reaction Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many volunteer reserves who are committed to the civil contingencies reaction forces are deployed overseas.

Des Browne: In the event that individual volunteers are deployed on operations overseas they become unavailable for civil contingencies reaction forces duties and another volunteer is sought to fill the vacancy. In this way the operational capability of the civil contingency reaction force is not compromised.

Civil Contingencies Reaction Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many additional personnel have been recruited to the civil contingencies reaction forces; and what the target figure is in the next 12 months.

Des Browne: Reservists are not specifically recruited into a civil contingencies reaction forces. Individuals are recruited into the reserves, and the civil contingency reaction forces is then manned from the reserves. Each force has a target strength of 500 personnel; there are no plans to change this.
	There are currently 14 Territorial Army infantry battalions with civil contingency reaction force roles, providing a maximum of 7,000 personnel. The number of infantry battalions with such as role will reduce to 13 in April 2007, in line with the future army structure.

Claims for Compensation

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims for compensation for dismissal from the armed forces on grounds of sexuality were made  (a) before the European Court of Human Rights ruling on 19 October 2002 and  (b) after 19 December 2003; of the claims in each category (i) how many resulted in a payment of compensation, (ii) what the (A) highest and (B) average payment was and (iii) how many remain outstanding; how many of the claims made after 19 December 2003 have been refused due to the date of application; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: holding answer 25 July 2006
	153 claims for compensation were made prior to 19 October 2002, with two claims submitted after 19 December 2003. Of those claims submitted prior to 19 October 2002, 38 have been settled, the highest award being £147,875, with an average award of £35,598.00. 62 of these claims remain outstanding. Both the claims received after 19 December 2003 have been refused on the grounds of their late application.

Combined Services Detained Interrogation Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2006,  Official Report, column 896W, on the combined services detained interrogation centre, when he expects to be able to write to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South.

Adam Ingram: The work required to find information about the combined services detailed interrogation centre has taken time as we have wished to provide as complete an answer as possible from the surviving records. I have now written to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Command Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the unnumbered Command Papers produced by his Department in each Session since 1976; by what means  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: Documents which are laid before Parliament as unnumbered Command Papers are generally restricted to explanatory notes to treaties, explanatory memorandum to statutory instruments and some Treasury minutes. All other documents are published in the numbered Command Papers series.
	A complete list of unnumbered Command Papers can only be produced at disproportionate cost.
	Copies of all unnumbered Command Papers are made available via the Vote Office.

Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many criminal offences his Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997.

Tom Watson: None.

Dartmoor National Park (Firing Ranges)

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 13 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1232W, on Dartmoor national park (firing ranges), when he will write to the hon. Member for Totnes.

Tom Watson: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Defence Establishments

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which defence establishments have been closed during the last three years; and how much financial assistance his Department provided in the surrounding area after the closure to support  (a) economic development,  (b) training,  (c) environmental improvements and  (d) other purposes in each case.

Tom Watson: holding answer 20 July 2006
	The Department has disposed of a large number of sites over the past three years. I will write to the right hon. Member with the answer and place a copy in the Library of the House.
	It is not the policy of the Ministry of Defence to provide financial assistance for areas affected by the closure of Defence establishments. Other Departments have responsibility for providing direct financial support for economic development regionally or to communities. However, the Department does work closely with the local authority and other stakeholders, amongst others English Partnerships, regional development agencies, and in Scotland the Scottish Executive, the enterprise bodies and the Welsh Assembly in Wales to consider the most appropriate future use when disposing of surplus sites.

Defence Export Services Organisation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget is for the Defence Export Services Organisation in 2006-07.

Adam Ingram: Provision of £15 million has been made for the net operating costs of the Defence Export Services Organisation in 2006-07.

Defence Information Infrastructure Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on his Department's budget of the additional monies which have been allocated to  (a) EDS and  (b) others for the defence information infrastructure project; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: A range of changes to the defence information infrastructure (future) programme have taken place since contract award for increment 1 to the Atlas consortium in March 2005, as allowed for under the provisions of the contract. These changes are not expected to have any effect on the defence budget.

Defence Logistics Organisation/Procurement Agency

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his assessment is of the impact on costs of the merger of the Defence Logistics Organisation and the Defence Procurement Agency.

Des Browne: The merger of the Defence Logistics Organisation and the Defence Procurement Agency will be subject to further detailed work over the coming months. However, it is not expected that the merger itself will involve significant additional costs beyond those arising from the proposal to collocate elements of the two organisations.

Defence Medical Services

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has sufficient  (a) regular and  (b) reserve medical officers to support current operations; what shortages of defence medical service health care professionals there are, broken down by speciality; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the staffing levels against establishment are for service  (a) medical and  (b) dental officers.

Tom Watson: The following table shows the current staffing level against establishment and requirement for service medical and dental officers:
	
		
			   Cadre 
			   Medical Officer  Dental Officer 
			 Establishment 810 290 
			 Current Manning 490 260 
			 SDR Requirement 970 270 
			 DMC Requirement 640 240 
			  Note: Figures above 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: DMSD 
		
	
	The figures show establishment and manning levels as at 1 April 2006, and include some specialists working in headquarters posts not directly related to their specialism.
	The "Current Manning" figures show the tri-service trained strengths in both cadres.
	"Establishment" is the listing of an individual unit's funded appointments/posts. It is different to the "Requirement", which are those posts necessary to support defence planning assumptions.
	To date the Defence Medical Services (DMS) have met all operational requirements placed on them. Medical support to deployed operations is absolutely vital and there is no question of British forces deploying on military operations without the appropriate medical support.
	It is important to note that the overall DMS manning requirement covers a much broader spectrum than just medical support to operations, since it includes all the personnel involved in the delivery of medical services to the non-deployed armed forces as well.
	DMS manning requirement figures were initially drawn up as a consequence of the strategic defence review (SDR). These remain the official, formally endorsed figures. Since then, however, overall defence planning assumptions have changed and DMS manning requirement figures have evolved. In order to support the defence planning assumptions contained within defence strategic guidance 03, the defence medical capability (DMC) phase 2 study was carried out. The DMC study has produced interim revised DMS manning requirement figures which more accurately reflect defence planning assumptions and have thus overtaken the SDR figures. Elements of these interim manning requirements have previously been released, prior to a new definitive set of figures (as set out in my predecessor's answer to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) on 9 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1402W.
	Work is ongoing to establish the overall requirement, with the overall requirement expected to decrease, although increases are expected within some individual specialties. I anticipate that new endorsed DMS manning requirement figures will be available later this year.
	It is acknowledged that currently there are manpower shortages across the DMS, especially in some key specialties. The following tables show the manning levels as at April 2006 in the key shortage specialties for Medical Officers and Nurses (requirement figures shown are the SDK figures and the DMC figures):
	
		
			   Requirement  
			  Medical Officer Specialty  SDR  DMC  Current manning 
			 General Medical Practice 460 270 260 
			 Anaesthetics 120 76 48 
			 General Surgery 41 36 18 
			 Emergency Medicine 29 23 13 
			 Psychiatry 26 31 13 
			  Notes:  Figures above 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10. Figures include some specialists working out of speciality in headquarter posts.   Source:  DMSD 
		
	
	
		
			   Requirement  
			  Nursing Specialty  SDR  DMC  Current manning 
			 Emergency Medicine 130 150 67 
			 Intensive Care 210 190 68 
			 Operating Theatre 81 72 51 
			 Registered Mental Health 110 150 97 
			  Notes: Figures above 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10. Figures include some specialists working out of specialty in headquarter posts.   Source: DMSD

Defence Medical Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1879W, on Defence Medical Services, if he will make a statement on the Ministry of Defence hospital unit concept to which he refers.

Tom Watson: The process to close military hospitals began in 1994 because they no longer had sufficient patient volume and case mix to develop and maintain the skills of our medical personnel. To meet this training need we have established Ministry of Defence hospital units (MDHUs) located within NHS hospitals at Derriford, Frimley Park, Peterborough, Portsmouth and Northallerton, and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine within the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust (UHBFT) in Birmingham.
	The integration throughout the NHS trusts of service personnel in those specialisms which are required on deployed operations enables Defence Medical Services staff to take advantage of NHS expertise and to maintain their own clinical skills in an active, up-to-date environment. Additionally, treating Service patients within the NHS trusts which host MDHUs provides the most effective means of giving the UK armed forces benefit from the latest advances in medical treatment and the recent investments in NHS facilities.
	In the last two years, enhanced command and control structures have been introduced. Each MDHU now has a dedicated command team. This has improved administrative, business and training functionality and enables clinical staff to concentrate on honing their professional skills, both medical and military. Although service staff work in a NHS environment, military ethos is maintained through regular collective events. Military uniform is worn by all command and serving administrative staff and also by clinical staff, except where duties require specific clinical dress. Clinical staff have their working time apportioned between "Trust Protected Time" and "Military Protected Time". The former guarantees sufficient clinical exposure to maintain standards, while the latter ensures that service operational and training requirements are met.

Departmental Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in date order  (a) Green and  (b) White Papers produced by his Department since October 2005.

Tom Watson: Since October 2005 the MOD has published one White Paper, "The Defence Industrial Strategy".

Departmental Staff (Fraud)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff members in his Department have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted following fraud charges since 1997.

Tom Watson: Reported cases of suspected fraud, theft and irregularity are currently recorded centrally on a summary basis only and it cannot be assumed that criminal proceedings have or will be applied in every case. The provision of information on prosecutions and convictions for fraud involving MOD Crown servants over the period specified could thus be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Deployments

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what deployments are being undertaken by the armed forces; and how many personnel are deployed thereon.

Adam Ingram: On 21 June 2006 the military operations being undertaken by the UK armed forces together with the number of personnel deployed on each operation were as follows:
	
		
			  Operation  Number of personnel deployed 
			 TELIC 10,060 
			 HERRICK 4,555 
			 OCULUS 830 
			  UN Operations:  
			 TOSCA 280 
			 BARONET 5 
			 PERCIVAL 5 
			 SEQUESTER (1)— 
			 DALMIN (1)— 
			 MOTTO (1)— 
			 (1 )fewer than five.   Note:  Figures have been rounded to the nearest five. 
		
	
	Figures include personnel deployed to the following locations:
	OP TELIC: Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and USA, plus personnel deployed on ships in the Gulf region.
	OP HERRICK: Afghanistan
	OP OCULUS: Bosnia and Kosovo
	OP TOSCA: Cyprus
	OP BARONET: Georgia
	OP PERCIVAL: Democratic Republic of Congo
	OP SEQUESTER: Liberia
	OP DALMIN: Sudan
	OP MOTTO: Sierra Leone
	Data are based on personnel reports collated manually from operational deployments, and may not include all current operations. Figures include UK regular forces, reserve forces and MOD civilian personnel.

Deposited Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the deposited papers placed in the Library by his Department since 2000; and when they were published.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Leader of the House, on Monday 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 729W.

Detached Duty

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) average,  (b) highest and  (c) lowest number of days detached duty over the last 12 months was for each of the Royal Air Force pinch point trades identified in his Department's annual report and accounts 2005-06.

Tom Watson: Separated service information for the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 is shown in the table(1).
	The table shows all types of detachment including operational deployments (formed and non formed units). South Atlantic deployments and pre-deployment training, routine tasks, formal staff visits, non operational unestablished commitments such as the Royal International Air Tattoo and routine career training not associated with a planned operational deployment. Separated service for the RAF is only reported for absence of three or more consecutive nights.
	
		
			   Average days  Highest days  Lowest days 
			 Junior Officer Pilots 55 215 3 
			 Weapons System Operators (Air load Masters) 60 215 3 
			 Weapons System Operators (Linguists) 95 190 3 
			 Operations Support (Fighter Controller) 50 205 3 
			 Operations Support (Provost Security) 50 260 3 
			 Medical Officers 65 260 3 
			 Princess Mary RAF Nursing Service 50 185 3 
		
	
	(1 )These figures are derived from information available as at 6 March 2006. The remainder of the data for the month of March is incomplete due to the introduction of the Joint Personnel Administration System on 1 April 2006.

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any building in his Department falls short of disability access regulations.

Tom Watson: Within the Ministry of Defence access requirements can vary between buildings, dependent on their use, occupancy and following a risk assessment. This Department acts within the disability regulations and Part M building regulations. Government Departments are subject to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which requires them to make reasonable access arrangements for disabled people.
	Factors such as the practicability of making an adjustment to premises and the extent to which these overcome the difficulties faced by disabled people may be taken into account in determining what is reasonable.
	Commanding officers and heads of establishments are responsible for defence establishments and carry out risk assessments in line with departmental guidance to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act and other relevant regulations.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid to his Department from the access to work scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget he plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of access to work funding for central Government departments; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: Although the Ministry of Defence makes full use of Access to Work in assessing the needs of its disabled staff for reasonable adjustments in the workplace, it does not collect the numbers of disabled staff receiving adaptations and equipment paid for by access to work nor do we keep a central record of the associated costs for such reasonable adjustments.
	The MOD currently funds all reasonable adjustments from a budget held centrally. This budget will be disaggregated to the MoD's business units with effect from April 2007. They will be responsible for funding all reasonable adjustments in the workplace in their areas.

Disarmament

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place  (a) in the Library and  (b) on his Department's website a copy of the presentation made by the Atomic Weapons Establishment to the 2005 nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference on verification aspects of disarmament, referred to in paragraph 59 of his Department's annual report and accounts for 2005-06, HC1394.

Des Browne: The presentation to the 2005 nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference related to the UK working paper on the Atomic Weapons Establishment's research into the verification aspects of nuclear disarmament. Following the review conference in May last year, it has been available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk). I have now made it available on the MOD website (www.mod.uk) and will arrange for it to be placed in the Library of the House.

Engagements

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the official visits made to major units and bases of the  (a) Royal Navy,  (b) Army and  (c) Royal Air Force in each of the past three years by Ministers holding non-Defence portfolios.

Tom Watson: holding answer 6 March 2006
	The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Equipment (Unaccounted)

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) weapons,  (b) ammunition and  (c) equipment could not be accounted for in each year since 2000.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Ethiopia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether modifications made to airframes of Ethiopian MiG fighters undertaken by Hunting Engineering prior to the Eritrea-Ethiopian conflict of 1998 to 2000 required the approval of his Department; what discussions took place between  (a) his Department and  (b) the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and (i) Hunting Engineering and (ii) the Ethiopian Government on this contract; and what the purpose of the modifications were;
	(2)  when he expects to answer Question 65534, on Ethiopian MiG fighters, tabled by the hon. Member for Stroud on 20 April.

Adam Ingram: Available records for the period before the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea indicate that an official of the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) was briefed in December 1996 on the requirement of the Ethiopian Air Force to upgrade its MiG21 aircraft. Records indicate that DESO made arrangements for Ethiopian officials to visit the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) and Hunting Engineering (now Insys) in March 1997. Subsequently, DERA won contracts for project management advice on the upgrade programme. We have found no evidence of discussions involving the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Government. Nor have we found any record of actions by Hunting Engineering connected with the programme for which the approval of the Ministry of Defence was required.

Far East Civilian Internees

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made by the working group on the introduction of the 20-year residence criterion for the settlements for second world war far east civilian internees; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: I announced the agreement and implementation of the detailed rules for the new 20-year residence criterion for the ex-gratia payment scheme for former far east prisoners of war and civilian internees on 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 9. A copy of the detailed rules has been placed in the Library of the House. The Veterans Agency is presently writing to applicants who they are aware may qualify and the Association of British Civilian Internees Far East Region has agreed to highlight the implementation of the new criterion through their newsletter. In view of the age of those who may be eligible, we are working to consider applications as quickly as possible, and I am pleased to say that the first payment was made on the day of the announcement.

Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters were in service with the  (a) Army Air Corps,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: The number of Army Air Corps, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Army Air Corps  Royal Navy  Royal Air Force  Total 
			 1997-98 308 108 123 539 
			 1998-99 300 107 144 551 
			 1999-2000 288 113 146 547 
			 2000-01 269 117 162 548 
			 2001-02 262 181 161 604 
			 2002-03 293 192 158 643 
			 2003-04 308 193 158 659 
			 2004-05 304 188 158 650 
			 2005-06 310 212 157 679

Hospitals

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for facilities for afloat primary casualty receiving capabilities.

Tom Watson: holding answer 25 May 2006
	RFA Argus is designated as the primary casualty reception ship. We are considering options for the future provision of afloat medical capability.

ICT Training

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many army recruits have undergone basic information and communications technology training in each year since 2001.

Tom Watson: On enlistment, Army recruits join a Phase 1 training establishment and undertake an intensive 14-week period of basic training. During this period of basic training, there is no formal IT training provided.
	Junior entry (JE) recruits at the Army Foundation College (AFC) undertake a 42-week course and IT training forms part of their vocational education leading to the award of a foundation modern apprenticeship. From financial year 2001-02 to 2005-06 5,080(1) JE soldiers completed their training at the AFC. This figure also includes those JE soldiers who passed through the Army Technical Foundation College Arborfield prior to its merger with the AFC in September 2004.
	At those Phase 2 training establishments where trainees are required to have a comprehensive understanding of IT, such as the Defence College of Communications and Information Systems, soldiers receive appropriate IT training for them to be able to operate the Army's increasingly complex weapons and communication systems.
	(1) Rounded to the nearest 10.

Injured British Servicemen (Treatment)

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops were aero-medically evacuated from Iraq by US forces for treatment at US facilities in Ramstein, Germany in each of the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: In the last 12 months nine UK soldiers have been aero-medically evacuated from Baghdad to Ramstein by US forces.
	All of them were subsequently returned to the United Kingdom and are included in our current TELIC Aeromed reporting published on the Ministry of Defence website.

International Anti-terror Exercise

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Stepnoy Orel-2006 (Steppe Eagle) international anti-terror exercise; and what  (a) UK and  (b) international forces were involved.

Adam Ingram: Exercise Steppe Eagle takes place annually, and focuses on increasing interoperability between Kazakh and UK—and, therefore, NATO —forces, in the realm of peace support operations. The exercise involves the deployment of a UK infantry company to Kazakhstan for joint training.
	This year's exercise is due to take place at the beginning of September, and will comprise:
	155 personnel from the 4th Battalion of The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment;
	120 personnel from the Airmobile Forces of Kazakhstan.
	Military officers from the United States, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan took an observer role in last year's Steppe Eagle. This year, 22 personnel from the United States will take part in the exercise itself, and there will again be Turkish observers.

Iraq

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of British troops stationed in Iraq on threats to UK security.

Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence does not make assessments of the impact of UK military deployments on UK security. The Home Office is responsible for assessing threats to the UK. As the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have said, the UK was a target for international terrorism before Iraq. Over the last 12 years there have been terrorist attacks in over 36 countries, not all of whom have been involved in—or even supported—military action in Iraq. There is no excuse or justification for terrorism and we cannot let our foreign policy be dictated by it. The establishment of a stable, democratic Iraq, enjoying the rule of law, will be our and Iraq's best defence against terrorism.

Iraq

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many attacks on multi national forces were recorded in the Iraqi provinces of  (a) Al Basrah,  (b) Al Muthanna,  (c) Dhi Qar and  (d) Maysan in June 2006.

Des Browne: The following table sets out the number of attacks recorded against multi-national Forces in each province of multi-national division (south east) in June 2006.
	
		
			  Province  Number of Attacks 
			 Al Muthanna 3 
			 Basrah 38 
			 Dhi Qar 2 
			 Maysan 18

Iraq

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of people injured or killed in Iraq in the last 12 months for  (a) wearing shorts,  (b) wearing jeans,  (c) wearing hair gels and similar products,  (d) not wearing a hijab,  (e) having a goatee beard,  (f) wearing a necklace and  (g) using a cell phone in public.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	In recent months there has been an increase in the level of violence against some ethnic, religious and social groups in Iraq to which the Government of Iraq, with the backing of the multi-national forces in Iraq, have responded by tightening their security regime. Clearly, we condemn the use of violence against any groups but we do not compile statistics of such attacks. Among other things we are working with the Ministry of Human Rights to develop its capacity so that it can promote the fundamental concepts of inclusiveness that will help overcome any social movement against particular minority groups.

Iraq

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the extent of Turkish military activity in northern Iraq in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Turkey has maintained a limited number of troops in northern Iraq since the late 1990s. Coalition forces are aware of their presence. We are not aware of any of these troops being engaged in offensive operations in the last 12 months.

Iraq

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average waiting time is for the issue of Iraq medals from when the application is received at the medal office on behalf of personnel who have completed the 30-day qualifying period.

Tom Watson: The average waiting time for the issue of the Iraq medal is two months.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case;
	(2)  what the value was of each IT contract awarded by his Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case;
	(3)  how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computers hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in his Department in each month since March 2005.

Tom Watson: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average response time has been for joint personnel administration pay claims since the system was implemented.

Tom Watson: The average time to pay claims into the banking system for short-term allowances claimed through the joint personnel administration system i-expenses tool is some 14 working days, although performance has improved steadily such that the July average is below five working days. Some claims do take longer than average to resolve when authorisation by the claimant's superior officer is required.

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what measures he has taken to address data errors transferred from legacy systems to the joint personnel administration system;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to minimise input errors in the operation of the joint personnel administration system.

Tom Watson: Much of the RAF data were transferred from legacy systems to JPA by a team of RAF clerks to ensure that data input was effectively controlled. Wherever possible, data are input by using lists of values contained in drop-down menus which reduces the opportunity to input data incorrectly. Free text boxes are used in only a handful of scenarios where drop-down menus are deemed to be inappropriate. Where errors have been identified in data transferred from legacy systems the individual is encouraged to amend the details either through the self-service facility or though unit HR staff. Improved training packages for users are currently being developed.

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average response time has been to complaints made through the i-query service for the joint personnel administration system since the system was implemented.

Tom Watson: Currently 71 per cent. of joint personnel administrative telephone inquiries, (currently about 5,000 per week) are dealt with at first call. Up until 21 July 2006, the average response time to inquiries made via the web based i-support tool or by telephone, which could not be dealt with immediately, was 11.5 days. This compares with the customer charter target of 10 working days. The software tool which tracks queries does not distinguish between verbal and i-support queries.

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects the armed forces personnel administration agency to meet the key targets for delivery of joint personnel administration.

Tom Watson: The key target to roll-out joint personnel administration to the Royal Air Force by the end of March 2006 has already been met. I expect the key target for financial year 2005-06 to roll out to the Royal Navy and the Army by October 2006 and March 2007 respectively to be achieved.
	The key target for the inquiry centre during financial year 2005-06 is for 75 per cent. of queries to be answered at the first call. While the initial volume of calls and early telephony problems have contributed to a current response rate of 71 per cent. for joint personnel administrative queries, I expect that the target will be met by the end of the financial year.

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on joint personnel administration; and what the overall costs of the programme are expected to be.

Tom Watson: As at 30 June 2006, £124.6 million had been spent on joint personnel administration. Based upon current forecasts, the overall cost of the programme is expected to be some £163.2 million. (The impact of adjustments to the programme to ensure alignment with the availability of defence information infrastructure is currently being assessed, but is likely to increase the forecast).

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF personnel have been  (a) overpaid and  (b) underpaid under the joint personnel administration system since March 2006.

Tom Watson: The number of RAF personnel who have experienced over and underpayments under the joint personnel administration system are set out as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Overpayments  Underpayments 
			 April 2006 4,647 1,992 
			 May 2006 400 775 
			 June 2006 227 258 
			 July 2006 94 75

Joint Personnel Administration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time staff are employed on the joint personnel administration helpdesk.

Tom Watson: Eighty four full-time equivalent staff (82 full-time and four part-time) are employed within the Enquiry Centre to cover the peak periods of enquiries from Royal Air Force personnel. Plans are well advanced to augment this number for the roll out of joint personnel administration to the Royal Navy.

Kosovo

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many designated dangerous areas the Kosovo protection corps cleared in each year since 2003; how many of the areas contained  (a) cluster munitions and  (b) BL-755 cluster munitions; how many designated dangerous areas remain to be cleared; and how many known locations of ordnance contamination remain to be cleared in Kosovo which are not within designated dangerous areas.

Des Browne: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The UK does not hold this information directly. Munitions clearance activity in Kosovo is monitored by the United Nations through their administrative mission in Kosovo as well as the UN Mine Action Service.

Lebanon

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the British evacuation force in Lebanon will offer assistance to other countries that wish to evacuate their citizens.

Des Browne: The UK has already offered assistance to other countries that wished to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon; the UK has assisted with the evacuation of some 4,500 people, from over 50 different nations.

Mambas

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he has carried out an evaluation of the use of Mambas formerly owned by his Department operated by Blackwater Security Consulting in Baghdad for personnel protection; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether any  (a) Foreign Office and  (b) other UK officials have been transported in Mambas operated by Blackwater Security Consulting in Iraq; and whether this form of transport has been assessed as offering sufficient protection when travelling in areas where there is a risk of exposure to insurgent attack;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has carried out of the vulnerability of Mambas operated by Blackwater Security Consulting in Baghdad to attack by improvised explosive device; and whether any lessons learned will be applied to enhancing force protection for British troops in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: To my knowledge, no Foreign Office or other UK Government personnel have been transported in Mambas operated by Blackwater Consulting in Baghdad, though records may not cover such detail and the possibility cannot be excluded.
	We have not carried out a specific evaluation of the use of Mambas by Blackwater Security Consulting in Baghdad for personnel protection, nor have we carried out a specific assessment of their vulnerability to improvised explosive device (IED) attack.
	We do, though, make regular assessments of the threats facing UK forces (including that from IEDs) and of the potential vehicles available from manufacturers around the world that might help us defeat those threats. We use these assessments to keep our force protection measures, including tactics, techniques and procedures and equipment, under constant review.
	On 26 June my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House that the Ministry of Defence was urgently reviewing the options for protected patrol vehicles, with a view to identifying what else could be done as quickly as possible and in the longer term. The RG-31, a more modern vehicle derived from the Mamba family, was considered, alongside a number of alternatives. On 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 75WS, he announced the results of the review.
	We do not comment on the relative protection of our vehicles, or those used by our Allies, as to do so would prejudice the safety of our and our allies' personnel. The additional vehicles announced by the Secretary of State on 24 July will provide more options for commanders to use as they see fit to best meet the mission and counter the threat.

Military Aircraft

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to  (a) procure more helicopters for and  (b) employ more pilots in the Army.

Adam Ingram: The future rotorcraft capability programme is considering how best to structure our helicopter fleets for the future. As part of this, we announced in January a capability sustainment programme for the upgrading of the Royal Navy's Merlin helicopters. We also announced in June an order for 70 new Future Lynx helicopters for use by the Royal Navy and Army.
	There is currently no plan to increase the number of pilots in the Army.

Military Vehicles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effectiveness of the Snatch Land Rover in protecting troops in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has  (a) to upgrade and  (b) to replace Snatch Land Rovers operated by the Army in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will estimate the cost of replacing the Snatch Land Rover used by the British Army with the RG-31;
	(2)  what plans he has to replace the Snatch Land Rover with another form of transport for the British Army.

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will purchase a quantity of BAE Land Systems RG-31s for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide enhanced protection for Army patrols pending a longer-term review of more suitable vehicles.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Members to the Statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 74-76WS. As he announced, the review recommended we buy around 100 Forces Protection Inc. Cougar, in addition to increasing the number of VECTOR vehicles being procured, and uparmouring and upgrading further FV430 vehicles. The Cougar is the vehicle best able to meet our requirement. It will provide an additional option for commanders to use as they see fit to best meet the mission and counter the threat. It will not replace the SNATCH land rover which will remain the most appropriate vehicle for some tasks.

Military Vehicles

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what evaluation his Department has carried out of the  (a) ADI Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicle and  (b) BAE systems Iraqi Light Armoured Vehicle in respect of the protection afforded from improvised explosive devices and other explosive devices; and how these vehicles compare with the Armoured Pinzgauer on order for British troops in Afghanistan;
	(2)  whether his Department has evaluated the potential role of the Force Protection Inc. Buffalo Mine Clearance Vehicle in operations in Southern Iraq; and what assessment he has made of the possible role these vehicles have in developing proactive measures to reduce the improvised explosive devices threat to British Army patrols in the region;
	(3)  what level of protection is afforded from mines and other explosive devices by the BAE Systems/OMC RG-31 when exploded  (a) under any wheel and  (b) under the cabin; and how this compares with the protection afforded by the Iveco Panther FCLV;
	(4)  what evaluations have been carried out by his Department of the BAE Systems Scarab Armoured Patrol Vehicle; and what level of protection is afforded by this vehicle from mines and other explosive devices when exploded  (a) under any wheel and  (b) under the cabin;
	(5)  whether his Department has carried out an evaluation of the protection offered by the US Navy Ultra concept vehicle project from the threat of  (a) improvised explosive devices and  (b) rocket-propelled grenade 7s.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary gave on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 75WS. Among other vehicles, the review considered the BAES OMC RG-31, the ADI Bushmaster, the US Ultra Armoured Patrol concept vehicle and the Force Protection Inc Buffalo. As the Defence Secretary announced, the review recommended that we buy around 100 Force Protection Inc Cougar as the vehicle best able to meet our requirements.
	In light of the review, it was also announced that we will be increasing the number of VECTOR vehicles being procured (a Pinzgauer-based protected patrol vehicle) to supplement SNATCH. We will be up-armouring and upgrading a further 70 FV430 vehicles beyond those already on order. To safeguard our and our allies' troops we do not comment on the detail of our vehicles' protection levels. However, the need to provide enhanced protection against the key threats currently faced in Iraq and Afghanistan was a key factor in our decisions.
	The BAES Scarab Armoured Patrol Vehicle was evaluated during the competition for the PANTHER Command and Liaison vehicle but was unsuccessful in that competition.

Ministerial Hospital Visits

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits by Cabinet colleagues to soldiers in hospital as a result of injuries sustained in overseas missions his Department facilitated in 2006.

Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence facilitates visits by the Prime Minister to soldiers injured on operations. These are treated as private occasions and we do not release details of such visits.
	The MOD facilitated a visit by the Secretary of State for Health (Ms Hewitt) to injured soldiers at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham in June 2006. This was part of a wider visit to Selly Oak NHS hospital.
	The MOD has not facilitated any such visits by other Cabinet colleagues in 2006.

Nuclear Deterrents

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the memorandum on the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent provided by his Department to the Defence Committee in November 2005, whether his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials are in a position to agree to the Defence Committee's request for them to give evidence to their inquiry, "The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: The Strategic Context".

Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence has done all it can support the work of the Defence Committee on the future of the strategic nuclear deterrent. We produced an initial memorandum, which was published on 20 January 2006. My predecessor also discussed this issue with the Defence Committee in some detail on 1 November 2005, as did I during my oral evidence session on 11 July this year. We have provided a detailed and substantive response to the Committee's first report, which was published on 26 July this year, and also made arrangements for the Committee to visit key nuclear establishments over the summer recess. We will continue to do all that we can to support future inquiries by the Committee in this area.

Nuclear Deterrents

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requests he has received to give evidence to the Defence Committee on Trident replacement; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: We have received three requests from the House of Commons Defence Committee for information and evidence on the future of the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent. In response, we produced an initial memorandum, which was published on 20 January 2006. My predecessor also discussed this issue with the Defence Committee in some detail on 1 November 2005, as did I during my introductory session on 11 July this year. We have provided a detailed and substantive response to the Committee's first report, which was published on 26 July this year, and will continue to do all that we can to support future inquiries by the Committee in this area.
	No decisions on any replacement for Trident have yet been taken, either in principle or in detail, but these will be taken later this year.

Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Des Browne: The number of visits to the regions by Defence Ministers between 1 July 2005 and 10 July 2006 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Secretary of State  Minister for the Armed Forces  Minister for Defence Procurement  Under-Secretary of State 
			 South East 3 5 5 6 
			 London 3 6 2 7 
			 South West 5 6 12 2 
			 East of England 1 1 1 3 
			 West Midlands 1 0 2 7 
			 East Midlands 0 — 2 1 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0 1 0 2 
			 North West 0 0 2 4 
			 North East 0 0 0 0

Ordnance Expenditure

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on ordnance in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 May 2006
	The total spend in financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06 by the Defence Logistics Organisation on general munitions was £228 million and £199 million respectively.

Overseas Operations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the British armed forces is serving on operations overseas.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 350-52W.

Phone Cards

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will  (a) increase the value and  (b) extend the time of phone cards issued to armed forces personnel stationed overseas.

Adam Ingram: As part of the operational welfare package, personnel serving on operations overseas are allowed 20 minutes of free telephone calls each week to anyone anywhere in the world. The financial allowance for people serving in non-operational locations overseas includes an element that is intended to cover the difference between the cost of 20 minutes of telephone calls in their location and the cost in UK.
	Publicly funded telephone calls are only one component of both the operational welfare package and the calculation of local overseas allowance. While accepting that more time would be welcome, there is a balance to be struck against expenditure on other elements of support. The complete operational welfare package has recently been reviewed and the operational commanders do not see a need to re-balance it.

Piracy

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many seaborne attacks by armed gangs there were  (a) in the Persian gulf,  (b) in the vicinity of Umm Qast and  (c) near the Basra oil terminal in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006.

Adam Ingram: I am unable to answer the question in the format requested. However, coalition statistics on the number of maritime criminal incidents that occurred in the north Arabian gulf in 2005 and 2006 are set out in the following table. Information relating to the number of incidents in 2004 is not held.
	
		
			   Year 
			  Month  2005  2006 
			 January 1 5 
			 February 0 5 
			 March 2 10 
			 April 0 12 
			 May 3 11 
			 June 3 7 
			 July 10 4 
			 August 10 — 
			 September 10 — 
			 October 5 — 
			 November 9 — 
			 December 15 —

Procurement

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether defence integrity pacts are applied to all defence procurements.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has encountered a relatively low number of cases of corruption in relation to the volume and value of its contractual activity. The MOD does not use defence integrity pacts as an anti-corruption device because it considers that its existing, well established processes have served it well (see the 'Guideline for Industry—Code of Procurement Ethics' and the Defence Condition 520—'Corrupt Gifts and Payments of Commission', both available through the commercial toolkit at www.ams.mod.uk).

Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many public appointments are within his patronage; what  (a) salary and  (b) other emoluments are attached to each; and what the comparable figures were in (i) 1976, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1996.

Tom Watson: The Ministry of Defence sponsors 32 public bodies: six executive non-departmental public bodies; 24 advisory non-departmental public bodies; one public corporation and one independent monitoring board. In total, these Bodies comprise 424 public appointments. These 32 public bodies include the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee which was formed in 1999 and the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions, plus 13 War Pension Committees, which moved over to the Ministry of Defence from what is now the Department for Work and Pensions in 2001.
	Details of the public appointments to the public bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence can be found in 'Public Bodies', copies of which are in the Library of the House. 'Public Bodies' has been published annually since 1980 and the most recent edition provides figures for 2005. Each edition of 'Public Bodies' contains details on the number of public appointments and remuneration details for that particular year. Comparable information for 1976 in respect of Ministry of Defence could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Between 1980 and 2001 'Public Bodies' published remuneration figures for both chairs and members of public bodies. This practice ceased in 2002 when the remuneration figures for Members were not included in the publication. The most recent details of remuneration for chairs (as at 31 March 2005) is published in 'Public Bodies'. Details are set out below in respect of the eight Ministry of Defence public bodies who remunerate its members; the remaining 24 do not.
	 Advisory Group on Medical Countermeasures
	Member: £210 per meeting
	 Animal Welfare Advisory Committee
	Member: £200 per day
	 Armed Forces Pay Review Body
	Member: £300 per meeting/visit
	 Defence Nuclear Safety Committee
	Member: £210 per day
	 Defence Scientific Advisory Council
	Deputy Chair: £265 per day
	Member: £210 per day
	 Nuclear Research Advisory Council
	Member: £210 per day
	 Review Board for Government Contracts
	Member: £7,370 per annum
	 Oil and Pipelines Agency
	Member: £7,500 per annum
	No public appointments to bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence attract emoluments beyond the remuneration referred to above.

QinetiQ

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations and warranties his Department has given to the QinetiQ joint bookrunners in the underwriting agreement; and if he will place a copy of the agreement in the Library.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence gave certain limited warranties and representations to the joint bookrunners in the underwriting agreement. These were normal for a transaction such as the QinetiQ IPO. Broadly, they related to:
	(i) the MOD's ownership of the shares;
	(ii) the MOD's ability, as a matter of law, to sell the shares and to perform its other legal obligations in relation to the process;
	(iii) the accuracy of certain prospectus statements relating to the policies, plans, views or expectations of the MOD, or to the terms of specific arrangements between the MOD and QinetiQ.
	The Underwriting Agreement is a commercially confidential agreement and I am therefore unable to place a copy in the Library. However, a detailed summary of its key terms appears on pages 300-303 of the QinetiQ prospectus, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House on 26 January.

Questionnaires

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) questionnaires,  (b) statistical inquiries and  (c) investigations have been carried out wholly or partly at public expense on behalf of or by his Department or public bodies for which he is responsible in each year since 1997; and what the (i) nature, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost was of each.

Tom Watson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Regma Biotechnologies

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what basis and on whose authority Regma Biotechnologies was allowed  (a) access to facilities and  (b) to set up a laboratory at Porton Down; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 25 July 2006
	Regma Biotechnologies was founded in December 1999 and commenced a three-year tenancy on the Porton Down science park on 17 July 2000.
	The Porton Down science park was founded in October 1997 as a result of the defence diversification White Paper of November 1998. The aim was to work in partnership with other local research and development organisations to promote Porton Down, and to act as an incubator unit for small start-up biotechnology companies by allowing them access to the support infrastructure. The tenancy agreement with Regma was the same as for any other small start-up biotechnology company.

Regma Biotechnologies

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions Wouter Basson has been given access to Porton Down to visit Regma Biotechnologies; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 25 July 2006
	Wouter Basson has not been given access to Porton Down to visit Regma Biotechnologies.

Reservists

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army reservists have been deployed on active service overseas in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the total number of Army reserve forces that figure represented in each year.

Tom Watson: Numbers and percentages of regular and volunteer Army reservists mobilised each year since 1995 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Reserves mobilised  Proportion of reserve forces 
			   Regular  TA  Total( 1)  Regular  TA  Total( 2) 
			 1995 240 450 690 0.5 0.9 0.7 
			 1996 320 1,160 1,480 0.7 2.2 1.6 
			 1997 230 650 880 0.6 1.3 1.0 
			 1998 280 620 910 0.8 1.3 1.1 
			 1999 340 840 1,180 1.0 2.1 1.6 
			 2000 270 520 790 0.8 1.4 1.1 
			 2001 300 620 920 0.9 1.8 1.3 
			 2002 240 680 920 0.7 2.0 1.4 
			 2003 150 8,220 8,370 0.5 25.1 13.1 
			 2004 120 2,370 2,490 0.4 7.5 4.0 
			 2005 50 1,300 1,350 0.2 4.1 2.1 
			 (1) Total number of regular and volunteer (TA) reserves mobilised by 31 December of that year.  (2) Percentage of reserves mobilised as a proportion of the total strength of regular and volunteer (TA) reserve forces, excluding full-time reserve service (FTRS), non-regular permanent staff (NPRS) and officer training corps (OTC).   Note:  Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in '5' have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. The sum of the parts may not therefore equal the total. 
		
	
	It is not possible to identify from central sources the exact number of mobilised reservists who deployed overseas. The table shows all mobilised reservists, irrespective of their deployment.

Science Applications International Corporation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the total value was of contracts entered into by his Department with Science Applications International Corporation in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what meetings took place between  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials of his Department and representatives of Science Applications International Corporation between January 2003 and December 2004.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Scottish First Minister

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the Scottish First Minister; and what subjects were discussed.

Tom Watson: Ministers have regular dialogues with ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Executive, discussing a wide range of issues of mutual interest. It is not our practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Security Passes

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many security passes have been reported  (a) lost and  (b) stolen by staff in his Department by year since February 2004.

Tom Watson: In the Ministry of Defence, all service personnel are issued with a service identity card, which is also used as a security pass to confirm identity for site access purposes. The following number of service identity cards have been reported as either lost or stolen since February 2004:
	
		
			   Total 
			 February to December 2004 10,266 
			 January to December 2005 7,849 
			 January to June 2006 4,616 
		
	
	It is not possible, without disproportionate effort, to separate the figures into sub-totals for those lost and stolen, due to the way the data are collated by the agency responsible for identity card production. Identity cards carry a photograph of the holder and have other features that inhibit their fraudulent replication.
	MOD civilians are not routinely issued with identity cards, but provided with a site-specific security pass. Like the service identity card, the security pass carries a photograph and other features to inhibit fraudulent replication; unlike the service identity card the security pass is not readily identifiable as associated with the MOD. While the loss or theft of civilian security passes is reported at unit/establishment level, statistics are not collated centrally and therefore details of totals lost or stolen could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Service Personnel

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel recruited in Dunfermline and West Fife are serving in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan.

Tom Watson: This information is not held centrally and cannot be collated without incurring disproportionate cost.

Service Personnel

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many service personnel serving in Iraq have been diagnosed with a mental health condition since British forces were committed to the country;
	(2)  how many service personnel who have served in Iraq have been invalided out of the forces on grounds of mental illness;
	(3)  how many service personnel are receiving treatment for mental illness in  (a) independent,  (b) NHS and  (c) Ministry of Defence medical establishments.

Tom Watson: It can be difficult to determine the underlying causes of some mental health problems, some of which could be caused by a combination of other life events that occurred before or after service in any operational theatre.
	A total of 1,541 personnel were referred to the Ministry of Defence departments of community mental health (DCMH) with possible mental health problems and subsequently identified as having a psychiatric disorder related to their service in Iraq in the years 2003 to 2005.
	The following table shows the total number of personnel admitted for any cause under the agreement MOD has with the Priory Group for mental health in-patient care. The numbers are not specific to deployment on Operation Telic in the Iraq region:
	
		
			  Date from  Date to  Number admitted 
			 1 December 2003 31 March 2004 58 
			 1 April 2004 31 March 2005 321 
			 1 April 2005 31 March 2006 351 
			 1 April 2006 30 June 2006 71 
			 Total  801 
		
	
	In 2003 and 2004, the following number of personnel were discharged from each Service due to mental and behavioural disorders:
	
		
			  Service  Total discharged( 1)  No. of those who had previously been deployed on Operation TELIC( 2) 
			 Navy 62 5 
			 Army 202 18 
			 RAF 88 4 
			 (1 )These figures update those provided in a previous answer dated 21 July 2005,  Official Report, column 2117W.  (2) This does not imply that discharge was directly or solely attributable to Operation TELIC. 
		
	
	The number of current and former service personnel treated by the NHS for mental health conditions since the beginning of the operation in Iraq is not known. Similarly, details of personnel who have been discharged as a result of a mental health condition that can be attributed specifically to service in Iraq and whose continued medical care has therefore been transferred to the NHS is not held centrally and to obtain it would require the examination of the individual medical records of every patient. These can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality. To seek permission, and then to extract the information from the records, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Service Records

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications for release of service records from the second world war his Department has received since 1997; and how many such applications have been successful.

Tom Watson: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Service Records

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to ensure consistency in decision making when considering whether to release service records following an application under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Tom Watson: The Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force personnel staffs who answer such requests work to the same guidance and criteria in discharging MOD's duty to process personal data fairly and in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Key issues include whether the subject of the record is alive; whether the next of kin are making or are aware of the request; and the precise nature of the information held and requested. This inevitably involves case by case consideration of often complex circumstances. A number of reports of apparently inconsistent outcomes have led officials to launch a review with the aim of providing more detailed guidance on the release of information from service records. I will write to the hon. Member when that work is complete, which I expect to be before the end of the year.

Soldiers' Pensions

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what average annual pension payment was received by Gurkhas in each year since 1997.

Tom Watson: This information is not held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Soldiers' Pensions

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what average annual pension payment was received by retired British soldiers in each year since 1997.

Tom Watson: This information is not held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Soldiers' Pensions

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the average total pension payments received by  (a) a Gurkha soldier and  (b) a retired British soldier during his lifetime.

Tom Watson: This information is not held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Staff Surveys

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff surveys have been conducted in his Department in each of the last three years.

Tom Watson: Details of survey research conducted by the Ministry of Defence and its agencies are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Submarine Operations

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) average,  (b) highest and  (c) lowest proportion of time was which submarine personnel spent on operations in the last three years.

Tom Watson: The proportion of time that fleet submarines (SSNs) not in refit have spent away from their base ports on operations over the past three years is as follows:
	Highest: 43 per cent.
	Lowest: 6 per cent.
	Average: 33.5 per cent.
	The proportion of time submarine personnel spent on operations over the past three years will not exceed this range.

Submarine Sales (Canada)

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK Government have paid any reparation to the Canadian Government following the fire aboard the HMCS Chicoutimi and the subsequent rescue mission.

Tom Watson: No. The Board of Enquiry convened by Canada into the HMCS Chicoutimi incident attached no blame to the UK Government.

Submarine Sales (Canada)

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK Government have paid any reparation to the Canadian Government in relation to the four Upholder class submarines that were found to be damaged upon delivery to the Canadian Forces Maritime Command.

Tom Watson: No. The four upholder class submarines were not damaged when they were handed over to, and accepted by, Canada.

Sudan

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the merits of UK troops making up part of the proposed UN force in Sudan.

Des Browne: Her Majesty's Government welcomed the signing on 5 May 2006 of the Darfur peace agreement by the Government of Sudan and the Minni Minawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army. We are urging all partners to support fully the implementation of the agreement, and the strengthening of the African mission in Sudan (AMIS) to meet the tasks contained within it.
	To date, the UK has committed £52 million in financial support to AMIS. Additionally, through the European Union and at the request of the African Union, the MOD has provided two military advisers. Separately, the UK has provided three staff officers, including the chief of staff, to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), mandated to support the implementation of the north-south comprehensive peace agreement.
	If approved, UNMIS could be expanded to assume peacekeeping responsibilities in Darfur, taking over from AMIS. In preparation, and at the request of the UN, the MOD has deployed one military officer to the department of peace keeping operations in New York to assist with planning support.
	We have no plans to deploy any further military personnel to Sudan.

Surface Ship Support

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made in  (a) exploring alternative contracting arrangements and  (b) establishing the way ahead for contracting for surface ship support.

Adam Ingram: A review of surface ship support arrangements concluded that the best way of achieving a sustainable, efficient and affordable surface ship support market for the future would be through the formation of an alliance. This was announced on 14 February 2006 and we are now working to take this forward. Agreement was reached in principle shortly after the announcement with the prospective Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA) partners (Devonport Management Ltd., Babcock International Group and Fleet Support Ltd.) on the work-share for the autumn 2006 upkeep packages. These packages of work will not be contracted under the yet-to-be-agreed alliance umbrella, but will instead form part of an initial test of principle for the alliance concept. Subject to affordability and this work continuing to offer best value when set against the Department's other priorities, it is intended to enter into contracts within the next few months.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the regulations relating to the disposal of drop tanks fitted to surplus military aircraft have been amended since 2000.

Adam Ingram: No.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military aircraft have been disposed of since 1999; and what action was taken to de-militarise the unit in each case.

Adam Ingram: Surplus aircraft sold by the Disposal Services Agency since 1999 are set out in the following table.
	In accordance with current regulations all aircraft are declassified prior to disposal and have their weapon systems removed. The precise action followed will vary case-by-case.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Jet Provost 19 
			 Jetstream 13 
			 Schleicher Valiant Glider 4 
			 BAC1-11 1 
			 BAE 146 1 
			 Buccaneer 6 
			 Bulldog 107 
			 Chipmunk 5 
			 Canberra 5 
			 Gnat 1 
			 HS125 1 
			 Harrier 44 
			 Hunter 13 
			 Jaguar 32 
			 Schempp-Hirth Janus-C 1 
			 Gazelle 65 
			 Lynx 6 
			 Sioux 2 
			 Wessex 24 
			 Whirlwind 5 
			 VC10 2 
			 Tornado 35 
			 Puma 1 
			 Hercules 4 
			 Sea King 1 
			 Viking Glider 4 
			 Phantom 16 
			 Scout 1 
			 Hawk 1 
			 Meteor 1 
			 Andover 1 
			 Tucano 2 
		
	
	This does not include aircraft disposed of as scrap.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received on the extent to which surplus military equipment disposed of to non-governmental purchasers has been  (a) exported and  (b) used in hostilities overseas.

Adam Ingram: None.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the rules relating to the disposal of military equipment to non-Government purchasers.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence disposes of a wide range of surplus military equipment and extensive rules and regulations govern the disposal of specific items. There is no single set of general rules relating to the disposal of equipment to non-government purchasers.
	It is, however, departmental policy that the contract of sale for any item will include terms and conditions covering re-use and eventual disposal as appropriate. All sensitive equipment is routinely demilitarised before sale, and any equipment that cannot be sold is disposed of or recycled in an environmentally sound manner. In addition, there are many types of military equipment that are not sold to the public as a matter of policy.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he maintains a register of non-governmental buyers of surplus military equipment.

Adam Ingram: No.

Unfinished Projects

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list projects undertaken in the last eight years at a cost of over £1 million which were not completed.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

University Air Squadrons

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that there is no reduction in the number of university air squadrons and the level of flying training they provide.

Tom Watson: There is no intention to reduce the number of university air squadrons. The hon. Member will be aware that a study has recently been commissioned to determine the optimum number and preferred locations of university air squadrons' air experience flights, which deliver their flying training.

UN Security Council Resolution 1325

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister of State (Mr. Ingram) gave to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Linda Gilroy) on 7 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 627-28W.

Veterans

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written answer of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 506W, on veterans, what percentage of service leavers used the career Transition partnership upon leaving each of the armed services in the last period for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: The percentage of service leavers using the career transition partnership varies from year to year, but for those discharged during the last year 2005-06, the take-up was 94.1 per cent. The equivalent figures for the previous four years are: 74.8 per cent in. 2001-02; 86.5 per cent. in 2002-03; 79.6 per cent. in 2003-04 and 84.6 per cent. in 2004-05. Percentages by individual service are not available, since statistics have been collected on a tri-service basis that reflects the philosophy of delivering a common high quality resettlement provision to members of all three armed services.

Veterans

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written answer of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 506W, on veterans, what the employment rates were for veterans  (a) one month,  (b) six months and  (c) one year after leaving each of the services, broken down by age cohort in the last period for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: Not all personnel who leave the armed forces want to continue to work. Of those service leavers who discharged in 2005 after using the career transition partnership (CTP) to prepare themselves for future employment and who have provided feedback on their post-discharge working status, nearly 57 per cent. had found employment on or before their final day of military service, and a further 13 per cent. within one month of discharge. Since CTP contract performance-related recording began in April 2000, about 95 per cent. of service leavers who accessed CTP support and wanted to work after departure from the armed forces were employed within six months of their discharge.
	In keeping with the philosophy of providing a high quality resettlement service to all entitled military personnel who will be entering a common civilian job market, post-discharge employment success statistics are not maintained on leavers by service or age cohort. Also, no statistics are held on the civilian employment status of veterans beyond the six-months post-discharge point.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many criminal offences her Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997.

Hilary Armstrong: According to available records, none.

Departmental-issued Credit Cards

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Cabinet Office issues guidance to departments on civil servants making personal use of departmental-issued credit cards; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: No. Individual Departments issue guidance to their staff on the use of their corporate credit cards.
	The Cabinet Office's guidance to its own staff makes clear that the Cabinet Office's corporate credit cards cannot be used for private purposes. The guidance also makes clear that misuse is a disciplinary offence.

Deputy Prime Minister

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants in the Cabinet Office provide support to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office, provides support to the Deputy Prime Minister, as it does to Chairs of all Cabinet Committees The Cabinet Office Communication Group has developed the Deputy Prime Minister's website through its own web content management system at no external cost. It has also provided occasional support to the Deputy Prime Minister's press office to cover leave arrangements.
	The Cabinet Office parliamentary Branch supports the Deputy Prime Minister's office in the handling of its parliamentary business.
	In addition the Department's infrastructure division provides some support services for the Deputy Prime Minister and his office since they are still based in a building which is managed by the Cabinet Office.

Disabled Staff

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of senior civil service staff are registered as disabled.

Hilary Armstrong: 2.8 per cent. of senior civil servants have declared that they are disabled (as at October 2005). Disability monitoring is conducted on a voluntary basis. We are working to improve representation of disabled people at senior levels and are committed to achieving our target of 3.2 per cent. disabled staff in the senior civil service by 2008.

Outsourcing

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what her policy is on the civil service outsourcing administrative functions overseas.

Patrick McFadden: There is no central policy to outsource administrative functions overseas. It is up to individual Departments and agencies to decide what best meets their business needs.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Community Safety Partnerships

Robert Walter: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what provision there is for potential employees of community safety partnerships to declare whether they have any history of being a party to domestic violence.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 29 June 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	Unless the individual in question will be working with children or vulnerable adults, or will be working in one of the occupations (e.g. teachers) that requires such disclosure, there are no centrally mandated provisions for potential employees to declare whether or not they may have been party to domestic violence. Where an individual does fall into one of these categories details of previous convictions, cautions, reprimands and warning that are held on the police national computer are disclosable. In the event the person will be regularly caring for, training, or otherwise responsible for a young or vulnerable person then it may be appropriate to disclose information held by the police, but only where it would be proportionate and relevant.

Computing Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computer hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in her Department in each month since March 2005.

Bridget Prentice: My Department purchased 12,758 desktop computers and 1,773 laptops during the period April 2005-June 2006. My Department does not hold central records for all other items requested and figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Councillors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average councillor to elector ratio was in the  (a) richest and  (b) poorest council wards in (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England and (iv) Northern Ireland in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Local government councillor:elector ratios are a matter for the Electoral Commission in England, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland.
	We are not able to provide information in the form of the richest and poorest wards. However the Indices of Deprivation published by each country provide details of the most deprived areas for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They are based on a geography generally small than wards (Super Output areas or Data Zones in Scotland) and measure deprivation not affluence. For England, using 2004 Indices, the most deprived area is in Breckfield ward, Liverpool and the least deprived In Oakley and North Waltham ward, Basingstoke and Deane.

Councillors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the recommended ratio of councillor to electors is in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England and  (d) Northern Ireland.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 24 July 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	Local government councillor:elector ratios are a matter for the Electoral Commission in England, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland.

Councillors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which 100 wards had the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest elector to councillor ratio in (i) Wales, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 24 July 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	Local government councillor:elector ratios are a matter for the Electoral Commission in England, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland.

Courts Service

Christopher Chope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will defer the proposed restructuring of the Courts Service in Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to take account of the new policy relating to restructuring of police forces.

Harriet Harman: It is the intention of HM Courts Service to proceed with the restructuring of its administrative and courts boards areas, including Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, by April 2007 and as agreed by the Lord Chancellor.

Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many criminal offences her Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997.

Vera Baird: The information requested is not collected and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Custody Plus

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs by which date the Government plan fully to implement proposals for Custody Plus.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	In the Review of the Criminal Justice System published on 20 July we said that Custody Plus will not go ahead in autumn 2006 as previously planned. We shall not implement Custody Plus until we are satisfied that sufficient resources are available to allow this to proceed.

Deaf Services

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to protect the professional title of people qualified to work as language service professionals for deaf people.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for Further Education and Higher Education.
	There is no recognised "professional title" for people working as language service professionals for deaf people. The Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) is the registration body for professional British Sign Language/English Interpreters (for England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and UK wide for Lipspeakers, Speech to Text Reporters and Deafblind Manual Interpreters. For service providers who wish to obtain support for deaf people to access their services, CACDP produces a directory of registered interpreters and other language service professionals. The Government have no plans to regulate in this area.

Departmental Staff

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of her Department's employees have been  (a) dismissed,  (b) suspended and  (c) subject to disciplinary action for criminal activity in each year since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: Figures are available only to show those who were dismissed following disciplinary proceedings for gross misconduct resulting from involvement in criminal activity, since June 2003, as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 2 
			 2006 2 
		
	
	Figures are not available to show the numbers of employees who were suspended, although suspension would usually follow a charge of gross misconduct and has been mandatory in this type of case since April 2005.

Departmental Staff

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff members in her Department have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted following fraud charges since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: Information prior to June 2003 was not collected. Since June 2003, statistics have been collected showing those dismissed for gross misconduct and these would include those prosecuted and convicted of fraud. These statistics show that no staff have been dismissed as a result of a prosecution or conviction of fraud.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was paid to her Department from the Access to Work Scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget she plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of Access to Work funding for central Government Departments; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The DCA has a team of dedicated local disability advisers, based in the regions, who assist in ensuring that the required reasonable adjustments, including specialist equipment and support, for people with disabilities are provided.
	It is not possible to confirm the precise contributions made to the Department under the Access to Work Scheme over the last year without incurring disproportionate costs, as there is no central record held within DCA.
	With effect from 1 October 2006, with the withdrawal of funding by Access to Work to employees of Central Government Departments, the DCA intends to continue its responsibility for financing and supporting any required reasonable adjustments for its own employees from the relevant budgets of DCA's internal service providers.
	The Office of Disability Issues (ODI) will be monitoring the situation to ensure that there is no detriment to current and future employees who are disabled.

Hutton Inquiry

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1268W, on the Hutton Inquiry, on what basis the Lord Chancellor decided that the formal powers of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1921 were not necessary; and how and when it was made clear to Lord Hutton that he could ask for more powers.

Harriet Harman: The Lord Chancellor decided that the formal powers of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1921 were not necessary in order to allow the inquiry to proceed quickly. It was made clear to Lord Hutton when he was appointed that he could ask for more powers.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the value was of each IT contract awarded by her Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case.

Bridget Prentice: My Department holds IT contracts with Fujitsu Services; Sound Technologies Ltd. (STL); Accenture; Cable and Wireless; Oracle; and Microsoft.
	The value of each contract is as follows:
	Fujitsu Services (magistrates courts IT systems) in 2002 for £232 million over 8.5 years;
	STL (magistrates courts IT systems) in 2003 for £38.5 million;
	Accenture (magistrates courts IT systems) in 2003 for £36 million;
	Cable and Wireless (for web-hosting) in 2002 for £1.5 million. Current value is £2.5 million because of increase to capacity to host additional services;
	Oracle (providing licensing for staff to use Oracle software products). Total expenditure since 2003, when the contract was awarded, is £9.7 million;
	Microsoft (Enterprise Licensing Agreement for all Microsoft products used within the Department as well as future versions released during contract period) in 2006 for £8.072 million over three years.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which IT contracts awarded by her Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Vera Baird: There have been no IT contracts abandoned by my Department in the last five years.

Magistrates

Rudi Vis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what measures are in place to monitor the sentencing practices of individual magistrates to ensure that they do not discriminate against black and minority ethnic people.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply
	The Home Office's five-year strategy for protecting the public and reducing reoffending, published in February 2006, outlined the commitment to work with judges, magistrates and other agencies to improve the quality of recording of ethnic monitoring data. This information will be used to ensure all those involved use that data to take action to ensure that black and minority ethnic offenders are being treated fairly by the system.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs has no specific measures to monitor the sentencing practices of individual magistrates. However, the Judicial Studies Board (JSB) through a variety of mechanisms ensures that diversity is addressed at all stages of a magistrate's development to ensure that they do not discriminate against black and minority ethnic people. The Magistrates National Training Initiative competence framework contains a number of knowledge and performance elements requiring magistrates to demonstrate an understanding of
	"diversity and fair treatment issues, including the use of non-discriminatory language"
	and magistrates are regularly appraised against these competences.

Magistrates

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of magistrates recruited in each year since 1997 were  (a) women,  (b) black or from another ethnic minority,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) under 30 in each Courts Service region in (i) Wales and (ii) England.

Harriet Harman: The tables provide a breakdown. Figures are provided subject to:
	Information on disability is not available. This has been collected systematically for approximately 18 months for new applicants only, and is therefore incomplete.
	We collect information on magistrates' age in the bands under 40, 40 to 49, 50 to 59 and 60 to 69. Figures for those that were under 40 are not available for the years up to 2004.
	The figures are not broken down by area because figures less than five are not quoted following established Government statistics guidelines for protecting the confidentiality of data subjects.
	
		
			BME  Female 
			   Total number of appointees  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1997(1) 1,682 110 6.53 852 50.65 
			 1998(1) 1,573 95 6.03 809 51.43 
			 1999(1) 1,609 105 6.52 793 49.28 
			 2000(1) 1,743 133 7.63 859 49.28 
			 2001(2) 1,618 137 8.46 784 48.45 
			 2002(2) 1,786 148 8.29 859 48.1 
			 2003(2) 1,623 132 8.1 785 48.4 
			 (1) Figures as at 1 January each year. (2) Figures as at 31 March each year. 
		
	
	
		
			BME  Female  Age under 40 
			   Total number of appointees  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 2004(1) 1,768 155 8.34 829 46.9 273 15.4 
			 2005(1) 1,766 143 8.1 857 48.5 277 15.69 
			 2006(1) 2,212 225 10.18 1080 48.83 336 15.19 
			 (1) Figures as at 31 March each year.

Ministerial Meetings

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Secretary of State last met the Scottish First Minister; and what subjects were discussed.

Vera Baird: Ministers have regular dialogues with ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Executive, discussing a wide range of issues of mutual interest. It is not our practice to disclose details of such meetings.

New Courts

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which  (a) magistrates courts,  (b) Crown courts and  (c) county courts have opened since 1995 in each parliamentary constituency.

Harriet Harman: The following courts have been opened since 1995:
	
		
			  (a) Magistrates courts 
			   Year opened  Parliamentary constituency 
			 Nottingham 1995 Nottingham South 
			 Bromley 1996 Bromley and Chislehurst 
			 Mansfield 1996 Mansfield 
			 West London 1998 Hammersmith and Fulham 
			 Hereford 2001 Hereford 
			 Kidderminster 2001 Wyre Forest 
			 Beverley 2001 Beverley and Holderness 
			 Bridlington 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 Worcester 2002 Worcester 
			 Southampton 2002 Southampton, Itchen 
			 Hull 2002 Kingston-upon-Hull West and Hessle 
			 Haverford West 2003 Preseli Pembrokeshire 
			 Redditch 2003 Redditch 
			 Manchester City 2004 Manchester Central 
			 Derby 2004 Derby North 
			 Chesterfield 2004 Chesterfield 
			 Warwick 2004 Nuneaton 
			 North Somerset (Worle) 2006 Weston-super-mare 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Crown courts 
			   Year opened  Parliamentary constituency 
			 Sheffield 1995 Sheffield Central 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 1997 Kingston and Surbiton 
			 Reading 1997 Reading East 
			 Ipswich 2004 Ipswich 
			 Cambridge 2004 Cambridge 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Combined courts (Crown and County) 
			   Year opened  Parliamentary constituency 
			 Canterbury 1995 Canterbury 
			 Bournemouth 1996 Bournemouth East 
			 Basildon 1996 Basildon 
			 Exeter 2004 Exeter 
		
	
	
		
			  (d) County courts 
			   Year opened  Parliamentary constituency 
			 Yeovil 1995 Yeovil 
			 Conwy and Colwyn 1995 Clwyd West 
			 Torquay and Newton Abbott 1995 Torbay 
			 Oldham 1997 Oldham West and Royton 
			 Sheffield (family) 2004 Sheffield Central 
			 Cambridge 2006 Cambridge 
			 Liverpool Civil Justice Centre 2006 Liverpool Riverside 
			 Shoreditch and Clerkenwell 2006 Islington South and Finsbury

Questionnaires

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many  (a) questionnaires,  (b) statistical inquiries and  (c) investigations have been carried out wholly or partly at public expense on behalf of or by her Department or public bodies for which she is responsible in each year since 1997; and what the (i) nature, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost was of each.

Bridget Prentice: This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

"From Improvement to Transformation"

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure that the new non-executive directors identified under proposals in the document "From Improvement to Transformation" include representatives from Wales.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 July 2006
	We are seeking non-executive directors who will add value to the Department by offering external advice and expertise in association with independence of thought to inform the decision-making process. To ensure openness, transparency and selection on merit, our non-executive director vacancies are being filled through open competition and we have welcomed applications from any candidate with the right mix of skills and experience, which includes an understanding of the sectors in which the Home Office operates.

Abduction Prosecutions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were prosecuted for abduction in London in 2004 in each London borough, broken down by  (a) sex,  (b) age and  (c) nationality.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty in courts in London for offences of abduction in 2004 are provided in the following table, broken down as requested. Data on the nationality of people convicted of an offence is not held centrally. This is because there is currently no legal obligation on people who are suspected, charged or convicted to declare their nationality and no sanction against them if they refuse to co-operate or they declare a nationality falsely. In a written ministerial statement of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 29WS my hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality (Mr. Byrne) set out the progress the Department is making to address this problem.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against in magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts in London for abduction offences( 1)  by age, sex and London court area, 2004( 2,3,4) 
			   Male 
			   10 to 17  18 to 20  21 and over 
			  London court area  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Inner London courts   
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge — — 1 — — — 
			 Highbury Corner — — — — 1 — 
			 Horseferry Road — — — — — 1 
			 South Western — — — — 1 1 
			
			  Other London courts   
			 Brent — — — — 1 — 
			 Bromley — — — — 1 — 
			 Croydon — — 1 1 1 1 
			 Ealing — — 1 1 1 — 
			 Enfield — — — — 1 — 
			 Havering — — — — — 1 
			 Hounslow — — — — 2 — 
			 Waltham Forest — — — — 2 1 
			 Total Greater London — — 3 2 11 5 
		
	
	
		
			   Female 
			   10 to 17  18 to 20  21 and over 
			  London court area  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Inner London courts   
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge — — — — 2 1 
			 Highbury Corner — — — — 1 — 
			 Horseferry Road — — — — — — 
			 South Western — — 1 1 1 1 
			  Other London courts   
			 Brent — — — — — — 
			 Bromley — — — — — — 
			 Croydon — — — — — — 
			 Ealing — — — — — — 
			 Enfield — — — — — — 
			 Havering — — — — — — 
			 Hounslow — — — — — — 
			 Waltham Forest — — — — 1 — 
			 Total Greater London — — 1 1 5 2 
		
	
	
		
			   Person 
			   10 to 17  18 to 20  21 and over 
			  London court area  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Inner London courts   
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge — -- 1 — 2 1 
			 Highbury Corner — — — — 2 — 
			 Horseferry Road — — — — — 1 
			 South Western — — 1 1 2 2 
			
			  Other London courts   
			 Brent — — — — 1 — 
			 Bromley — — — — 1 — 
			 Croydon — — 1 1 1 1 
			 Ealing — — 1 1 1 — 
			 Enfield — — — — 1 — 
			 Havering — — — — — 1 
			 Hounslow — — — — 2 — 
			 Waltham Forest — — — — 3 1 
			 Total Greater London — — 4 3 16 7 
			 (1) Includes offences related to 'abduction of children' and general abduction offences.  (2) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (4) There were no reported cases of abduction in City of London courts.

Air Miles

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many free air miles have been earned by senior civil servants in his Department in each of the last three years; and how they were used.

Liam Byrne: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Senior civil servants' travel is conducted in accordance with the Home Office guidance which makes clear that Air Miles should be used only for official purposes or else foregone. However, if it is impracticable to use the benefits for Government travel, there is no objection to senior civil servants donating them to charity if this is permissible under the terms of the airline's scheme and the charity is one chosen by the airline.

Actual Bodily Harm

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases of actual bodily harm were police cautions imposed in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such cases were first offences.

Tony McNulty: Data on the number of people cautioned for offences relating to actual bodily harm (which covers minor injuries such as grazes, scratches and minor bruising), in England and Wales from 2000 to 2004, can be found in the following table. Information on whether or not such cases were first offences is not held centrally.
	
		
			  Number of persons cautioned for offences relating to actual bodily harm, in England and Wales( 1,2) , 2000-04 
			  Statute  Offence description  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sec 47 (in part). Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm (malicious wounding). 12,283 11,963 15,663 20,268 25,538 
			 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 S47 as amended by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 S29(1)(b) and (2). Racially or religiously aggravated ABH(3). 85 72 110 129 169 
			 Total — 12,368 12,035 15,773 20,397 25,707 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and other agencies. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) This includes the following offences: racially aggravated malicious wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm, religiously aggravated ABH and racially or religiously aggravated ABH.   Notes:  1. Our reference PQ 166-06.  2. House of Commons number (82525).   Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The fourth national Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC 4) ran from 8 May to 8 June. The results from this campaign will be released shortly. Previous AMECs have been shown to be very effective in dealing with alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder, including town-centre violence and under-age sales of alcohol. Early indications are that AMEC4 saw the highest-yet level of activity by the police and trading standards officers. One of the purposes of AMEC4 was to set the tone of acceptable behaviour during the World Cup competition, and the relatively low level of disorder seen during the competition is testimony to its effectiveness.

Antisocial Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times  (a) antisocial behaviour orders,  (b) acceptable behaviour contracts,  (c) warnings,  (d) individual support plans,  (e) action plan orders,  (f) child safety orders,  (g) referral orders,  (h) parenting orders,  (i) parenting contracts,  (j) local child curfew schemes,  (k) dispersal powers,  (l) fixed penalty notices for disorderly behaviour,  (m) detention and training orders,  (n) seizure of vehicles used antisocially,  (o) closure of licensed premises,  (p) confiscation of alcohol from young people and  (q) designated public places orders have been used in (i) each local authority and (ii) each police authority, broken down by basic command unit, in each region of England and Wales in each year since the introduction of the powers.

Tony McNulty: Figures reported to the Home Office on  (a) antisocial behaviour orders,  (b) acceptable behaviour contracts,  (c) final warnings,  (d) individual support plans,  (e) action plan orders,  (f) child safety orders,  (g) referral orders,  (h) parenting orders,  (i) parenting contracts,  (j) local child curfew schemes,  (k) dispersal powers,  (l) fixed penalty notices for disorderly behaviour,  (m) detention and training orders, and  (q) designated public places orders by individual petty sessional area or police authority basic command unit are small and their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. However, information is available, either for England and Wales or at a local level or can be found on the web, as follows:
	 (a) Antisocial behaviour orders. A table giving a breakdown by the criminal justice system area and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed within antisocial behaviour orders is available on the Crime Reduction website at:http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/asbos2(1a)sept05.xls. This table gives data by year since ASBOs were introduced up to 30 September 2005 (latest available).
	 (b) Acceptable behaviour contracts. The data are not available in the form requested. However, for the last two years the Home Office Anti-social Behaviour Unit has carried out a survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Community safety Partnerships in Wales asking about their actions taken to tackle antisocial behaviour. From those who responded to the surveys the results are as follows:
	
		
			  Acceptable behaviour contracts 
			   Number 
			 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004 5,094 
			 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 8,654 
		
	
	 (c) Final warnings. Data on the number of final warnings given to juveniles are in Criminal statistics, Table 3B and available via the following web link: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/crimstats04.html.
	 (d) Individual support plans. Data on individual support plans are not collected centrally, but seven individual support orders were made at magistrates courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, from 1 April 2004 to 31 December 2004 and 24 from January 2005 to 30 September 2005 (latest available).
	 (e),  (g) and  (m) Action plan orders, referral orders and detention and training orders. Tables S3.2A and S3.4A of Volume three of the Criminal Statistics Supplementary Tables show for magistrates courts and the Crown court respectively, the number of persons sentenced for indictable offences to action plan orders, referral orders and detention and training orders by police force area. These can be found on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/cs2004vol3pt2.xls and http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/cs2004vol3pt4.xls.
	 (f) Child safety orders. Two child safety orders were made during piloting in 1999 and two more were reported during 2003. New arrangements for the collection of historic and ongoing statistics about child safety orders are being considered in conjunction with the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
	 (h) Parenting orders. Parenting orders were piloted between 30 Sept 1998 and 31 March 2000 during which period 284 parenting orders were made of which 174 were made during criminal proceedings for offences committed by the child or young person but data showing the breakdown by area are not available. Parenting orders were commenced in England and Wales in June 2000. The Youth Justice Board (the YJB) collects the number of parenting orders by youth offending team area as reported to it by youth offending teams. (Table 1) which highlights the number of parenting orders made in England and Wales April 2000-March 2004 will be placed in the Library.
	 (i) Parenting contracts. The YJB collects the number of parenting contracts related to youth offending or antisocial behaviour by youth offending team area as reported to it by youth offending teams. Table 2 which highlights the number of Parenting Contracts made in England and Wales April 2000-March 2004 will be placed in the Library.
	 (j) Local child curfew schemes. No applications have been made to the Home Secretary for the approval of local child curfew schemes.
	 (k) Dispersal orders. Information about the use of dispersal powers can be found in the document "Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour; The Story So Far and The Move to Respect" on the Respect website at: http://www.respect.gov.uk/whats-being-done/Respect_Tackling_anti-social_behaviour_the_story_so_far_and_the_move_ to_Respect.pdf
	 (l) Penalty notices for disorder. Data on the number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued in 2004 broken down by police force area can be found at the following web link: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/spnd.html.
	 (q) Designated public place orders. Information on the number of designated public places orders that have been introduced in each local authority area can be found at the following web link: www.crimereduction.gov.uk/alcoholorders01.htm.
	We have started a programme of work in the Home Office looking at the quality of existing data and how this might be improved.
	Statistics on  (n) seizure of vehicles used anti-socially,  (o) closure of licensed premises and  (p) confiscation of alcohol from young people are not collected by the Home Office.
	 Note: Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. These data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, police forces and other organisations. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Antisocial Behaviour

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given to the national probation service on requests by accredited media for the release of visual images of those on whom an antisocial behaviour order is served; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 March 2006
	A key part of each crime and disorder reduction partnership's (CDRP) antisocial behaviour strategy is promoting the community's awareness of actions taken to tackle specific problems. This includes ensuring that victims, witnesses and the community are aware of any ASBOs in force in their area. Publicity also helps the community to police such orders, acts as a deterrent to other potential offenders, and increases public confidence that local agencies are able to deal effectively with this type of problem. Publicity has to be proportionate to the achievement of these objectives, and is therefore the norm, not the exception.
	CDRPs have access to guidance about ASBO publicity on the www.together website, which reflects the judgment given in R (on application of Stanley, Marshall and Kelly)  v. Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and chief executive of London borough of Brent (2004) EWHC 2229 (admin), commonly referred to as Stanley  v. Brent.

Antisocial Behaviour

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 537W, on antisocial behaviour orders, how many antisocial behaviour orders have been breached in each criminal justice area in each year since their introduction.

John Reid: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBO) breach data are currently available for the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003. Available information by Criminal Justice System (CJS) area is given in the following table. More up to date data are being validated before publication and will be published in due course.
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) breached as reported to the Home Office from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 
			  CJS area  Number of ASBOs breached 
			 Avon and Somerset 17 
			 Bedfordshire 12 
			 Cambridgeshire 8 
			 Cheshire 15 
			 Cleveland 17 
			 Cumbria 17 
			 Derbyshire 11 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8 
			 Dorset 2 
			 Durham 26 
			 Essex 2 
			 Gloucestershire 5 
			 Greater London 46 
			 Greater Manchester 138 
			 Hampshire 20 
			 Hertfordshire 9 
			 Humberside 10 
			 Kent 7 
			 Lancashire 37 
			 Leicestershire 4 
			 Lincolnshire 5 
			 Merseyside 22 
			 Norfolk 11 
			 Northamptonshire 1 
			 Northumbria 15 
			 North Yorkshire 8 
			 Nottinghamshire 13 
			 South Yorkshire 24 
			 Staffordshire 15 
			 Suffolk 9 
			 Surrey 4 
			 Sussex 18 
			 Thames Valley 8 
			 Warwickshire 14 
			 West Mercia 48 
			 West Midlands 81 
			 West Yorkshire 49 
			 Wiltshire 3 
			 England 759 
			   
			 Dyfed Powys 5 
			 Gwent 5 
			 North Wales 11 
			 South Wales 13 
			 Wales 34 
			   
			 Total England and Wales 793 
			 (1) Breaches are counted in this table on a persons basis, i.e. multiple breaches (occurring at the same time), or where the order has been breached on more than one occasion, are all counted as one breach.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Antisocial Behaviour

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued by Kirklees council in each year since their introduction.

Tony McNulty: Antisocial behaviour orders are issued by the courts. Relevant authorities may apply for an order to be issued at the magistrates court, acting in its civil capacity, or the county court, where there are existing proceedings. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of ASBOs issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, where prohibitions have been imposed in Kirklees metropolitan council local government authority area, by applicant, where applicable( 1) , and period, from 1 June 2000( 2 ) up to 30 September 2005 (latest available) 
			   Kirklees metropolitan council  West Yorkshire police  Order on conviction( 3)  Total 
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 — — — — 
			 2001 4 — — 4 
			 2002 3 2 — 5 
			 2003 11 — 1 12 
			 2004 6 — 17 23 
			 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2005 9 — 8 17 
			 Total 33 2 26 61 
			 (1) Applicant details are collected on those orders issued in the civil courts on application.  (2) From commencement (1 April 1999) to 31 May 2000 data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area.  (3) Following introduction of the Police Reform Act (2002) ASBOs are available to the courts following conviction of a criminal offence.   Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Antisocial Behaviour

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued since their introduction; how many have been breached; and how many breaches have resulted in a custodial sentence.

Tony McNulty: From commencement, 1 April 1999 to 30 September 2005 (latest available) the number of antisocial behavior orders (ASBOs) issued within England and Wales was 7,356.
	ASBO breach data only ever cover breach proceedings where there has been a conviction. Those data are currently available for the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. During this period, of the 793 persons convicted for breaching their ASBO, on one or more occasions, 186 received a custodial sentence for breach of ASBO only.
	More up to date breach data are being validated before publication and will be published in due course.

Antisocial Behaviour

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued by  (a) Stoke-on-Trent,  (b) Birmingham and  (c) Nottingham city council in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: Antisocial behaviour orders are issued by the courts. Relevant authorities may apply for an order to be issued at the magistrates court, acting in its civil capacity, or the county court, where there are existing proceedings. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of ASBOs issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, where prohibitions have been imposed in specified local government authority (lga) areas, by applicant, where applicable( 1) , and period 
			  Lga area/type of applicant  2003  2004  2005( 2)  Total 
			 Stoke-on-Trent City council 8 21 20 49 
			  of which: 
			 Local authority applicant — 2 3 5 
			 Other applicant — 2 — 2 
			 Order on conviction 8 17 17 42 
			  
			 Birmingham city council 25 72 76 173 
			  of which: 
			 Local authority applicant 2 10 23 35 
			 Other applicant 4 1 3 8 
			 Order on conviction 19 61 50 130 
			  
			 Nottingham city council 9 48 50 107 
			  of which: 
			 Local authority applicant 2 1 19 22 
			 Other applicant — — — — 
			 Order on conviction 7 47 31 85 
			 (1) Applicant details are collected on those orders issued in the civil courts on application.  (2) From 1 January to 30 September 2005 (latest available).

Antisocial Behaviour

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each London borough in each of the last five years to  (a) under 12 year olds,  (b) 12 year olds,  (c) 13 year olds,  (d) 14 year olds,  (e) 15 year olds,  (f) 16 year olds,  (g) 17 year olds and  (h) 18 years and over, broken down by  (i) sex and (ii) ethnicity.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the table, a copy of which will be placed in the Library. Ethnicity is not collected centrally as part of the data collection of antisocial behaviour orders issued.

Counter-terrorism

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of his Department's progress in implementing the 12-point anti-terrorism plan announced by the Prime Minister on 5 August 2005.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement which I made on 15 December 2005,  Official Report, column 167-171WS which gave a full progress report on the 12-point plan outlined by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 5 August 2005.
	There has been significant progress in the period since 15 December 2005. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Lebanon and the Terrorism and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bills, which will enable us to give effect to a number of elements of the plan, are well advanced in their parliamentary passage.
	As indicated in my written ministerial statement, a further comprehensive report on progress will be given before the summer recess

Counter-terrorism

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has implemented to prevent a future terrorist attack in the UK.

Tony McNulty: The Government's counter terrorism strategy—known as CONTEST—was published on 10 July and explains the framework we have implemented to prevent a future terrorist attack in the UK. The Government are necessarily limited in what they can say about our counter-terrorism measures but the publication does give information about specific initiatives where it is possible to do so.
	The strategy is wide-ranging involving the whole of Government, international partners and agencies, including the police and intelligence agencies and our citizens in the UK from all communities. It is structured around four principal strands which are closely linked and together form an integrated and balanced approach. The strands focus on preventing terrorism through tackling the radicalisation of individuals; pursuing terrorists by disrupting their operations; protecting the UK's key assets at home and abroad; and ensuring that the UK is prepared to deal with the consequences of a terrorist attack.

Application Registration Cards

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people given conditional temporary admissions to the UK had their Application Registration Card removed because of failure to meet the specified conditions between 1 January and 30 June.

Liam Byrne: Current policy is that an ARC should only be taken from an applicant upon a grant of leave, prior to removal, or where there are grounds to suspect that the card has been falsified. Data on impounded Application Registration Cards (ARC) are not routinely kept.

Approved Premises

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many approved premises there are in England and Wales; and how many places there are in such premises.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are 104 Approved Premises in England and Wales. On 28 February, the latest date for which figures are available, 2,273 bed spaces were approved by the Secretary of State under Section 9 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 for use by residents.

Approved Premises

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bail hostels there are in England and Wales; where they are located; and what his Department's criteria are for admission as a resident by  (a) offenders and  (b) defendants on remand.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 25 July 2006
	There are 104 Approved Premises (formerly known as bail and probation hostels) located throughout England and Wales.
	Under section 9 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, Approved Premises may admit defendants on bail in criminal proceedings, offenders serving community sentences and offenders on post-custodial licences. In addition, with the approval of the Secretary of State, some voluntary residents may be accommodated for public protection, supervision or treatment reasons.

Approved Premises

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residents there are at the Ryecroft Bail Hostel, Gloucester; what offences have been committed by each; how many are on  (a) life sentence licence and  (b) other post-custody licences having committed offences of (i) murder or manslaughter and (ii) rape or other sexual offences against (A) adults and (B) children; how many are on the sex offenders' register; how many are on tags or curfews; how many supervising staff are employed at the hostel; what their qualifications are; and what discussions he and his officials have had and on which dates with (1) their counterparts from the Department for Education and Skills, (2) hon. Members and (3) members and officials of (x) Gloucester city council and (y) Gloucestershire county council about the residents of the hostel.

Tony McNulty: Ryecroft is approved by the Secretary of State to accommodate a maximum of 16 residents. Actual occupancy will vary on a day to day basis. Statistical information about the type of offences committed by offenders residing at an approved premises and the licence conditions to which they are subject at any one time is not collected centrally. Certain offenders are placed in approved premises, where they can be closely monitored by offender managers and by staff in approved premises. Since offenders are managed locally, it is appropriate that local offender managers should have comprehensive information on offenders, including the type of offence they have committed. Information about the numbers of staff at individual approved premises and their qualifications is not collected by the Home Office.
	A meeting to discuss proposals to vary the admissions criteria at Ryecroft approved premises was held in August 2005. This was attended by the local MP, a Home Office official and representatives of the Gloucestershire probation area. The latter have had ongoing discussions about the proposals with representatives of the city and county councils.

Arabic Interpreters

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Arabic interpreters are available to the police, broken down by police authority area.

Tony McNulty: We do not hold information on the supply of interpreters in particular languages to individual police forces. Code C issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 states (at paragraph 13.1) that chief officers of police are responsible for ensuring appropriate arrangements are in place for people who cannot speak English and provides that interpreters should be drawn from the National Register of Public Service Interpreters. There exists more detailed national guidance regarding interpreters in the criminal justice system and this is currently under review by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, with the Association of Chief Police Officers and other interested parties. The National Register of Public Service Interpreters is maintained by a not-for-profit limited company, which is a subsidiary of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. I understand that there are 120 Arabic interpreters on the current Register and that many of these are available to work in more than one police area.

Arrests (Firearm Smuggling)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for attempting to smuggle a firearm into the UK in each of the last five years; and what average sentence was imposed on those convicted.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on arrests collected centrally in England and Wales is based on persons arrested for "notifiable" offences by main offence group only and does not identify individual offences.
	It is not possible to identify from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database (which relates to England and Wales) the offence of attempting to smuggle a firearm into the country.
	Information relating to Northern Ireland and Scotland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office and the Scottish Executive respectively.

Assaults

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attacks there have been on  (a) prison officers and  (b) probation officers in each (i) prison and (ii) probation service area in each of the last five years.

John Reid: The following table details the number of assaults on staff by prisoners for the last five years as reported on the central incident reporting system for prisons in England and Wales. It is not possible to differentiate the grades of staff assaulted from these central records. There are no central records on the number of assaults that take place on probation officers in probation service areas.
	
		
			  Number of assaults on staff by prisoners for the last five years in prisons in England and Wales 
			   Prisoner on prison staff assaults 
			 2001 2,468 
			 2002 2,587 
			 2003 2,604 
			 2004 2,887 
			 2005 3,209 
			 Total 13,755

Asylum/Immigration

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) essential needs and  (b) minimum weekly costs of unsuccessful asylum seekers his Department is required to meet; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Destitute unsuccessful asylum seeking families with minor dependants normally continue to receive support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The average cost of section 95 support, including accommodation and subsistence, from un-audited April 2005 to November 2005 financial information, is estimated at £141 per person per week. Other destitute unsuccessful asylum applicants who meet the eligibility criteria may be supported under section four of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Support is normally provided in self-catering accommodation with vouchers provided for the purchase of food and essential toiletries. The average cost of section four support for the period April 2005 to November 2005 is estimated at £129 per person per week.

Asylum/Immigration

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Russian nationals have been granted political asylum since 1 January 2005; and how many of them  (a) were facing criminal charges in Russia and  (b) have been subject to requests for extradition by the Russian authorities.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 10 July 2006
	25 (rounded to the nearest five) Russian nationals have been granted asylum between 1 January 2005 and 31 March 2006. According to management information figures, four of those have also been the subjects of requests by the Russian Federation for extradition.

Asylum/Immigration

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost of processing an asylum application, including support, is according to the most recently available figures.

Liam Byrne: The most recently audited figure for the average cost of processing an asylum application in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, including support, is £3,050. This figure represents the average cost for asylum screening and initial decision but excludes legal aid and is derived from the National Audit Office report "Improving the Speed and Quality of Asylum Decisions", HC535 Session 2003-04, publication date 23 June 2004.

Asylum/Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were received from Somalia in each of the last five years; how many have been in 2006-07; how many of these have been (i) approved, (ii) rejected and (iii) not determined; and how many Somali people have been returned under immigration law.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 July 2006
	Available information on asylum applications, initial decisions, appeals and removals for nationals of Somalia are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The next publication covering the second quarter of 2006 will be published on the 22 August 2006.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the daily food budget is per person for asylum seekers in asylum seeker detention centres.

Liam Byrne: The average daily cost of detaining a person in an immigration removal centre is £116. This includes the cost of providing three meals a day for each detainee.

Asylum/Immigration

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose cases failed had an address in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne at the point of failure in each year from 2000 to 2005.

Liam Byrne: Available statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives. The numbers of asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) are published on a quarterly and annual basis, broken down by local authority. Data on asylum seekers supported by NASS broken down by parliamentary constituency are also available from the Library of the House.

Asylum/Immigration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were received from  (a) Sierra Leone,  (b) Indonesia,  (c) the Democratic Republic of Congo and  (d) Angola in each of last five years; how many have been received from each country in 2006-07; how many have (i) been approved, (ii) been rejected and (iii) not been determined in each case; and how many people from each country have been returned under immigration law.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The information requested is not available. Information on asylum applications, initial decisions, appeals and removals by nationality are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The next publication covering the second quarter of 2006 will be published on the 22 August 2006.

Asylum/Immigration

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many removals of failed asylum applicants have been made in the last  (a) one,  (b) three and  (c) 12 months.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 July 2006
	Information relating to the number of removals of asylum applicants is available from the Quarterly Asylum Statistics bulletin published in May 2006. At present the latest figures available correspond to the first quarter of 2006. Statistics on immigration and asylum, including the Quarterly Asylum bulletin, are available on the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum/Immigration

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the difference has been between the number of failed asylum seekers removed and the number of new applications for asylum in each of the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 July 2006
	Information on the number of failed asylum seekers removed and the number of new applications for asylum has been published as part of the public performance target: removing more failed asylum seekers than new anticipated unfounded applications. Copies of this report are available at the IND website: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/aboutus/tippingpointsresults.pdf

Asylum/Immigration

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any person granted family indefinite leave to remain since October 2003 had at the time of approval  (a) a criminal conviction and  (b) been the subject of (i) an antisocial behaviour order and (ii) a sex offender order.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 July 2006
	I am advised that from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate internal records we are aware that we have, due to the exceptional nature of their cases indefinite leave to remain was granted to three families, where the applicant had an unspent criminal conviction for a recordable offence. None of these people were the subject of an antisocial behaviour or a sex offender order. In addition, four cases involving unspent convictions for non-recordable offences were also granted on a discretionary basis due to exceptional circumstances.

Asylum/Immigration

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been granted family indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in each  (a) month,  (b) quarter and  (c) year since the family ILR exercise began.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 July 2006
	Information on the Family ILR Exercise is published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	<http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html>
	
		
			  Month  Indefinite leave to enter (ILE)  Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)  Grand total 
			  2004
			 January 5 60 65 
			 February 65 635 700 
			 March 870 1,060 1,930 
			 April 610 565 1,175 
			 May 405 530 935 
			 June 580 395 975 
			 July 240 245 485 
			 August 265 265 530 
			 September 180 165 345 
			 October 115 140 255 
			 November 290 370 660 
			 December 230 335 565 
			 
			  2005
			 January 230 390 620 
			 February 280 390 670 
			 March 225 345 570 
			 April 295 410 705 
			 May 290 390 680 
			 June 300 475 775 
			 July 450 490 940 
			 August 580 910 1,490 
			 September 615 780 1,395 
			 October 585 715 1,300 
			 November 560 745 1,305 
			 December 360 475 835 
			 
			  2006
			 January 365 525 890 
			 February 320 460 780 
			 March 570 780 1,350 
			 Grand Total 9,880 13,045 22,925 
		
	
	
		
			  Quarter  Indefinite leave to enter (ILE)  Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)  Grand total 
			  2004
			 Q1 940 1,755 2,695 
			 Q2 1,595 1,490 3,085 
			 Q3 685 675 1,360 
			 Q4 635 845 1,480 
			 
			  2005
			 Q1 735 1,125 1,860 
			 Q2 885 1,275 2,160 
			 Q3 1,645 2,180 3,825 
			 Q4 1,505 1,935 3,440 
			 
			  2006
			 Q1 1,255 1,765 3,020 
			 Grand Total 9,880 13,045 22,925 
		
	
	
		
			   Indefinite leave to enter (ILE)  Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)  Grand total 
			 2004 3,855 4,765 8,620 
			 2005 4,770 6,515 11,285 
			 2006 (to 31/3) 1,255 1,765 3,020 
			 Grand Total 9,880 13,045 22,925

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many former members of the armed forces from  (a) Commonwealth and  (b) other countries subsequently applied to become British citizens in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: An applicant's former or current occupation is not separately recorded and these statistics could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of asylum seekers who are not complying with reporting requirements to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Liam Byrne: Since April 2005 we have been monitoring the level of compliance with reporting requirements. Individuals who are placed on a reporting restriction are required to report at a reporting centre or a police station at regular intervals. This interval will vary from a daily reporting event up to reporting each month depending upon individual circumstances. Information we have indicates that four out of five of all planned reporting events in 2005-06 took place.

Asylum/Immigration

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees held under immigration powers are on hunger strike in each institution.

John Reid: We record detainees who have refused to eat the meals provided. Records indicate that on 12 July there were three detainees who had refused to take the meals provided for three days or more. I am advised that one person is detained at Colnbrook and two are detained at Harmondsworth. All three are taking fluids and two are known to be buying food from the centre's shop.

Asylum/Immigration

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been detained for 21 days or more in immigration detention centres in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: Period statistics covering October to December 2005 have been published in the latest Quarterly Asylum bulletin. Published editions of this bulletin and other information on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of Regulation  (a) 364,  (b) 365,  (c) 366,  (d) 367 and  (e) 368 of the Immigration Rules; what recent representations he has received about the operation of rules; and whether he plans to amend these rules.

Liam Byrne: In all cases the Immigration Rules (paragraph 364) require that the Secretary of State will take into account all relevant factors, including those listed in paragraph 364, known to him before a decision to deport is taken.
	Where a spouse, civil partner, or dependent child under the age of 18 of a person who is or has been deported are themselves liable to deportation, the case must, in addition, be considered in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs 365-68 of the Immigration Rules.
	On 19 July my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary laid a statement of change to the Immigration Rules. This amends paragraph 364 of the rules to set out that where an individual is liable to deportation the presumption will be that the public interest requires deportation. While the Secretary of State will consider all relevant factors in deciding whether this presumption is outweighed in any particular case it will only be in exceptional circumstances that the public interest will be outweighed in a case where it would not be contrary to our international obligations to deport.
	Paragraphs 365 to 368 of the rules, which relate to spouses, civil partners and children of persons against whom a deportation order has been made, are not being substantively amended at this time but paragraph 367 is being amended to reflect the changes to paragraph 364.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary also reported to the House on the progress of the eight priority areas for management action to improve the way the Department deals with the deportation of foreign national prisoners. We will keep the Immigration Rules relating to deportation under review in the light of that work.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Immigration Service staff were employed at UK  (a) seaports and  (b) airports in each of the last five years.

John Reid: Overall, numbers of Border Control staff have risen.
	In 2001 the figure for full-time equivalent immigration control staff was 1,830.2, in 2002 the figure was 2,194, in 2003 the figure was 2,322.7, in 2004 the figure was 2,474.7, in 2005 the figure was 2,501.4 and in 2006 the figure is currently 3,594.6.

Asylum/Immigration

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been made under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on prosecutions is taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The most recent year for which data are available is 2004. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006, and data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	Some sections of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 came into force in June this year and the other sections are being progressively commenced over time. Information on prosecutions under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 is therefore not yet available.

Asylum/Immigration

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the Ministers with responsibility for immigration and asylum have been since May 1997; and what responsibilities each Minister had.

Tony McNulty: Information on the Ministers that had responsibility for Immigration and Asylum since May 1997 is provided in the attached table. A publication called the List of Ministerial Responsibilities which provides details of departmental and ministerial responsibilities and contact details for Minister's offices is available on line at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ministerial_responsibilities/index.asp
	
		
			  Responsibility for Immigration and Asylum 
			   1997 
			 Mike O'Brien: May 1997 to July 1999 Immigration and nationality; 
			  community relations; 
			  Passport agency; and also deals with House of Commons business on constitutional issues. 
			   
			   1998 (October) - 1999 
			  immigration and nationality; 
			 . asylum; 
			  community relations; and 
			  Passport agency. 
			 Mrs Barbara Roche: July 1999 to June 2001 Immigration and asylum; 
			  Nationality; 
			  Passport Agency; and EU matters. 
			 Jeff Rooker: June 2001 to May 2002 Responsible for all Home Office business in the House of Lords. 
			  Immigration and asylum; 
			  Nationality; 
			  Work Permits; and 
			  Passport Agency. 
			 Ms Beverley Hughes: May 2002-2004 Citizenship; 
			  Immigration; and 
			  Community Cohesion. 
			   
			   2003 (July) 
			  Nationality, Immigration and Asylum, including work permits; 
			  Nationality, including coherent citizenship and inward migration policies; 
			  UK Passport Agency; 
			  Identity Cards; 
			  Counter-terrorism and resilience: 
			  Strategic oversight of policy on civil renewal; and 
			  Responsibility for women's issues. 
			   
			 Des Browne: April 2004 to May 2005 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum, including work permits; 
			  Nationality, including coherent citizenship and inward migration policies; 
			  People trafficking; and UK Passport Agency and identity cards. 
			   
			 Tony McNulty: 2005-06 Immigration; 
			  Asylum; and 
			  Nationality, naturalisation and citizenship. 
			   
			 Liam Byrne: May 2006 Nationality, naturalisation and citizenship; 
			  Immigration; 
			  Asylum. 
			  He also has cross-departmental responsibility for delivery.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the management structure in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Liam Byrne: As part of the fundamental review of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate currently underway we are further considering the future management structure of the organisation. Ministers reported their findings on 25 July. The report can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Automatic Gait Recognition Technology

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the  (a) reliability and  (b) effectiveness of automatic gait recognition technology in tackling crime; if he will make resources available to make this technology more widely available to the police; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 18 July 2006
	The Home Office continues to explore the application of new authentication and identification technologies through the Biometric Centre of Expertise at the Home Office Scientific Development Branch. The Centre has tracked research in this field and has been in discussion with the National Offender Management Service on potential applications for gait recognition.
	Gait recognition is one of a group of biometric technologies which are predominantly behavioural in character, in contrast with the mainly physiologically determined technologies such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification and iris biometrics, where there is more performance data and a longer history of research, development and deployment. Work on development of robust solutions using gait recognition is relatively recent and the Home Office is aware that one of the premier centres of research in the field is in the UK at Southampton University. It is recognised that automatic gait recognition has potential to support systems that protect the public, but this technology needs further development and validation before it can be considered for deployment on a routine basis.

Biometric Cards

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many immigrants had been issued with a biometric card under the RepARC system on 30 April;
	(2)  by what date he expects all immigrants reporting to centres using the RepARC system to be issued with a biometric card;
	(3)  what the average time taken was to process biometric cards given to immigrants using the RepARC system; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: I hope that, as the subject matter of the above questions are closely linked, it will be helpful if I deal with them in one reply. The Reporting Application Registration Card (RepARC) Project was introduced in 2004 to create an automated link between compliance with reporting restrictions attached to temporary admission and access to asylum support payments. All asylum applicants are issued with an Application Registration Card (ARC), which is a biometric card containing fingerprint data and is also used as the method of collection for asylum support payments. In the RepARC system, ARCs are electronically revalidated at reporting events. Such events take 3-4 minutes including the process of checking identity and revalidation. Failure to report on two consecutive occasions leads to expiry of the card, and presentation of an expired card at a post office leads to denial of asylum support payments. This supports our policy of having in place a link between compliance with all aspects of the asylum process and access to support. If payment is suspended as described above, the remedy for the applicant is to resume reporting. If this does not happen, the case is referred to enforcement officers to locate the applicant; formal discontinuation of support may follow after eight weeks. Rollout of the RepARC process to all 11 IND reporting centres commenced in October 2005, in conjunction with the implementation of section 69 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (the payment of travel expenses for reporting). Key external stakeholders have been kept fully informed of the rollout timetable, which has so far delivered the system to the reporting centres in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Croydon, Glasgow, Solihull and two London centres. Rollout to the remaining reporting centres (north London, North Shields and Folkestone) will be complete by 31 July 2006, by which date it is expected that all NASS-supported applicants reporting to these sites will be reporting with an ARC. Non NASS-supported applicants are not covered by the RepARC scheme, although all asylum applicants are issued with ARCs. As of 30 April, 4250 asylum seekers with biometric ARCS, the total of all NASS supported asylum seekers who report to RepARC-enabled centres, were reporting within the RepARC system. Non NASS-supported applicants do not fall within the RepARC system but are still issued with ARCs, which are frequently used at reporting events to verify identity.

British Crime Survey

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people participated in the 2005-06 British Crime Survey.

Tony McNulty: The British Crime Survey comprises a core sample of the general population of adults resident in private households in England and Wales and separate boost samples of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) and adults from black and minority ethnic groups.
	Between April 2005 and March 2006, 47,796 adults were interviewed as part of the core sample, 2,259 as part of the youth boost sample and 3,176 as part of the BME boost sample; giving a total of 53,231 adults interviewed.

British Sign Language

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are laid down by his Department to govern the procedures for accessing British Sign Language interpreters and lipspeakers on a 24 hour basis for deaf people requiring assistance at police stations.

Tony McNulty: Code C issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 states (at paragraph 13.1) that chief officers of police are responsible for ensuring appropriate arrangements are in place for people who are deaf. The Code provides that sign language interpreters should be drawn from the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People Directory of British Sign Language/English Interpreters. The Code also makes it clear that if a person appears to be deaf or there is doubt about their hearing or speaking ability, they must not be interviewed in the absence of an interpreter unless they agree in writing to being interviewed without one. There exists more detailed national guidance regarding interpreters in the criminal justice system and that is currently under review by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, with the Association of Chief Police Officers and other interested parties.

Burglars (Custodial Sentences)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of burglars convicted for a third offence received a custodial sentence in the most recent year for which information is available; and what the average length of sentence was for those sentenced to custody.

John Reid: This is a complex piece of analysis last undertaken in 2005 for Parliamentary Question 216331 the results of which are repeated as follows. Since then, the main data source for criminal information has changed from the Offenders Index to the Police National Computer. No similar sample or programs are currently available for us to conduct more up to date analysis. The table gives the numbers sentenced for their third burglary offence. The numbers are for a four week period in 2001, derived from the Offenders Index. The figures include attempted burglaries, as it is not possible to distinguish between an actual and attempted burglary on the Offenders Index.
	
		
			  Burglars convicted for their third offence (by type of burglary) 
			  ( 1) Burglary in a dwelling ( 2) Burglary not in a dwelling 
			 Number sentenced (for the third offence) 99 89 
			 Number sentenced to custody 75 42 
			 Proportion sentenced to custody (%) 76 47 
			 Average sentence length (months) 17.7 10 
			 (1) Includes only previous convictions for burglary in a dwelling. Please note that definition and coverage is different from s111 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. (2) Includes only previous convictions for burglary not in a dwelling

Thermal Imaging

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of thermal imaging cameras  (a) in the detection of cannabis factories and  (b) in detecting other crimes; whether he plans to ensure that this equipment is available to all police forces; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: No scientific assessment has been made by HOSDB of the merits of using thermal imaging cameras for the detection of cannabis factories. The ability to detect cannabis factories was first recognised in the 1990s with the introduction of thermal imaging equipment to police air support craft. Small hand-held thermal imagers have more recently become available to the UK law enforcement community leading to the recent increase in ground use.
	In detecting other crimes, assessments are being made of the technology for detecting prison escape and breaches of security barriers. Assessments are being made of the technology in a variety of other circumstances, however revealing the exact nature of the offences or the results could compromise the effectiveness of the technique. No formal scientific assessment has been made for detecting property crimes (e.g. vehicle theft, burglary) but these are frequently detected by the use of thermal imaging equipment from police operated aircraft and helicopters.
	The vast majority of police forces in England and Wales have access to an air support unit and these are all fitted with thermal imaging technology. No formal purchasing arrangement is in place for police forces to procure hand-held thermal imagers and thermal imaging equipment is still perceived as an expensive technology by the service (typically £6,000 to £8,000 per unit).
	The Home Office Scientific Development Branch owns five different types (over twenty items) of thermal imager, which can be used for a variety of activities including the detection of cannabis factories. These are available to all police forces in England and Wales to borrow free-of-charge for specific operations.

Cash Handling Centres

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2006,  Official Report, column 743W, on cash handling centres, what assessment he has made of whether appropriate action was taken following 20 December 2004 to review security arrangements at major cash handling centres in England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: The annual National Threat Assessment (NTA) prepared by National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) in conjunction with other police forces, provides the intelligence which allows cash handling centres to review, with police forces, the appropriateness of their security arrangements.
	The last published assessment by NCIS for the period 2004-05 to 2005-06 took account of major incidents over the past year and concluded that this did not amount to an overall increased level of risk at this time. Officials are continuing to work with the private security industry to identify ways to update and disseminate good practice.

CCTV

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) grants and  (b) other sources of revenue are available to install and maintain CCTV surveillance cameras in small towns and villages in rural England; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Between 1999 and 2003, major investment was made in CCTV through the Crime Reduction Programme (CRP). A total of £170 million of Home Office capital funding was made available to local authorities following a bidding round. Through this, more than 680 CCTV schemes were installed in town centres. The end of the Crime Reduction Programme signalled the end of a dedicated central funding regime for CCTV. After the conclusion of the CRP, crime reduction funding moved to a structure that saw it being directly allocated to local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and Basic Command Units to enable them to tackle local crime priorities using a number of interventions including CCTV.
	In 2006-07 the Safer Stronger Communities Fund, totalling at least £220 million is available to Local Area Partnerships including local authorities and CDRPs who can decide, from within this envelope, how much to allocate to the installation of CCTV.

Child Sex Offences

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many perpetrators of child abuse are known to his Department, broken down by age group; and how many in each age group have received treatment for their offending.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 3 July 2006
	There is no specific offence of child abuse. It is not possible to identify the number of offences of assault and harassment offences which were committed against children. There are, however, a number of offences specifically relating to child victims for which data are available from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The number of defendants found guilty of these offences in 2004 is provided in the following table. Information on whether these offenders are receiving treatment is not centrally collected, however the current target is for 1,240 sex offenders to complete treatment in custody and a further 1,200 to complete treatment in the community during 2006-07.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty of offences related to child abuse, by age group of offender England and Wales 2004( 1,2) 
			  Offence class and principal statute  Offence description  10 to 17  18 to 20  21 and over  All ages 
			  Cruelty to or neglect of children  
			 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Sec 1. Cruelty or neglect of children 3 55 482 540 
			  Buggery  
			 Sexual Offences .Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Sec 143, 144 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male of a male under 16 5 — 47 52 
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 143,144. Buggery or attempted buggery by a male with a female under 16 — 1 5 6 
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Sec 143.144. Buggery or attempted buggery by a male aged 21 or over with a female aged 16 or 17 — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 S1 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male aged 18 to 20 with a female aged under 16 — 1 — 1 
			   
			  Indecent assault on a male  
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 15. Indecent assault on male person under 16 years 45 15 217 277 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.6 Assault of a male child under 13 by penetration 1 — 1 2 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 7 Sexual assault of a male child under 13 4 — 3 7 
			   
			  Indecency between males  
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Secs 12, 13 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 144. Gross indecency by a male aged 21 or over with a male aged under 18 — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 13 as amended by Sexual Offences(Amendment) Act 2000 S.1 Gross indecency or indecency by a male aged 21 or over with male aged under 16 — — 1 1 
			   
			  Rape  
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a female aged under 16 14 9 252 275 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a male aged under 16 7 1 20 28 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Attempted rape of a female aged under 16 5 1 35 41 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Attempted rape of a male aged under 16 5 — 2 7 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Rape of a female child under 13 by a male 1 1 3 5 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Rape of a male child under 13 by a male 1 — — 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Attempted rape of a male child under 13 by a male 1 — — 1 
			   
			  Indecent assault on a female  
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 14 as amended by Indecency with Children Act 1960 Sec 2. Indecent assault on females under 16 years of age 193 58 974 1,225 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.6 Assault of a female child under 13 by penetration 2 — 5 7 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 7 Sexual assault of a female child under 13 9 1 24 34 
			   
			  Unlawful sexual intercourse with a child under 13  
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 5. Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13 8 — 1 9 
			 Sexual offences Act 1956 S.5 Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 8 9 36 53 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 3.8(1X2) Causing or inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity—penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8(1)(3) Causing or inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity—no penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8 (1)(2) Causing or inciting a male child under 13 to engage in sexual activity—penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b.cii)(2) Sexual activity with a female child under 13—offender aged 18 or over—penetration — — 2 2 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(2) Sexual activity with a male child under 13—offender aged 18 or over—penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 10(1,a,b,c(ii))(2) Causing or inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity offender aged 18 or over—penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 11(1 a,b,c,d(ii))(2) Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13(offender aged 18 or over) — — 6 6 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S12 (1 a,b,c(ii)X2) Causing a child under 13 to watch a sexual act(offender aged 18 or over) — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b.cii)(2) and S13 Sexual activity with a female child under 13—offender aged under 18 2 — 1 3 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a.b,cii)(2) and S13 Sexual activity with a male child under 13—offender aged under 18 1 — — 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 11(1 a,b,c.d(ii))(2) and S13 Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13—offender under 18 1 — — 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(3) Sexual activity with a female child under 13—offender aged 18 or over—no penetration — 1 4 5 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b.cii)(3) and 13 Sexual activity with a male child under 13—offender aged under 18—no penetration 3 — — 3 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 10(1.a.b.c(ii)X3) and 13 Causing or inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity offender aged under 18—no penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 10(1,a,b,c(ii))(3) and 13 Causing or inciting a male child under 13 to engage in sexual activity offender aged under 18—no penetration 2 — — 2 
			   
			  Unlawful sexual intercourse with a child  
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 6. Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16. 12 15 43 70 
			 Sexual offences Act 1956 S.6 Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 9 31 118 158 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.4(1-4) Causing a female person to engage in sexual activity without consent—penetration 1 — — 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.4(1-4) Causing a male person to engage in sexual activity without consent—penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 3.4(1-3.5) Causing a female person to engage in sexual activity without consent—no penetration — — 2 2 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a,b,ci)(2) Sexual activity with a female child under 16 (offender aged 18 or over)—penetration — 9 29 38 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a.b.ci)(2) Sexual activity with a male child under 16 (offender aged 18 or over)—penetration — — 2 2 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.10(1a,b,ci)(2) Causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity(offender aged 18 or over)—penetration — — 3 3 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 10(1a,b.ci)(2) Causing or inciting a male child under 16 to engage in sexual activity(offender aged 18 or over)—penetration — — 2 2 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 11(1 a.b.c.d(i))(2) Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16(offender aged 18 or over) — — 5 5 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S12 (1 a,b,c(i))(2) Causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act(offender aged 18 or over) — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.91,a,b,ciX2) and S.13 Sexual activity with a female child under 16—offender under 18 8 — — 8 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 10(1,a,b,c(i)){2) and S.13 Causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity—offender under 18 1 — — 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1.a,b,ci)(3) Sexual activity with a female child under 16 offender aged 18 or over—no penetration — — 10 10 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.10(1a.b,ci)(3) Causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity(offender aged 18 or over)—no penetration — — 3 3 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a.b.ci)(3) and 13 Sexual activity with a female child under 16 (offender aged under18)—no penetration 1 — — 1 
			   
			  Incest  
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 10, 11. Incest with girl under 13 years old 3 1 6 10 
			 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 10. 11. Other incest — — 14 14 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1ei.2-3.5) Sexual activity with a female child family member—offender not 18 or over at time of offence and victim 13 to 17—no penetration 2 — — 2 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1eii,2-4a,6) Sexual activity with a female child family member—offender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13—penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1ei,2-4b) Sexual activity with a female child family member—offender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim 13 to 17—no penetration — — 4 4 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1eii.2-4b) Sexual activity with a female child family member—offender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13—no penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1eii,2-4b) Sexual activity with a male child family member—offender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13—no penetration — — 1 1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S26 (1eii,2-4b) Inciting a female child family member to engage in sexual activity—offender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13—no penetration — — 1 1 
			   
			  Abuse of trust—sexual offences  
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S16(1ei,2-5) Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with a female child. (Offender is aged 18 or over and victim is 13 to 17) — — 3 3 
			   
			  Miscellaneous sexual offences  
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S15 Meeting a female child following sexual grooming etc. (offender is aged 18 or over and victim is under 16) — — 3 3 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Child Sex Offences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many living persons have been convicted of child sex offences under  (a) the Sexual Offences Act 1956 in the last 30 years and  (b) part one of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to identify the number of living persons convicted of child sex offences. The Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform holds information about convictions but it does not hold information about whether or not the offender is still alive.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued by Luton council under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

Tony McNulty: The powers under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 commenced in April this year. Data on the number of fixed penalties issued by local authorities in England will not be collected until the end of the financial year.

Colombia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on whose authority decisions are made about the  (a) deployment and  (b) nature of duties of (i) police and (ii) Serious Organised Crime Agency staff deployed to Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The operational deployment of SOCA staff is a matter for the Director General.

Colombia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of the Serious Organised Crime Agency's operations in Colombia in 2006; what the projected budget is for 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: This is an operational matter for the Director General of SOCA.

Colombia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2020W, on Colombia, what instructions were given to British police officers prior to secondment to Colombia with regards to the limits of their work in that country.

Tony McNulty: Police officers from forces in England and Wales who travel overseas to provide advice and assistance to an international organisation or other body engaged in policing activities must be authorised to do so by the Home Secretary under section 26 of the Police Act 1996. No such authorisations have been issued in 2006 for officers to deploy to Colombia.

Colombia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what comments his Department has made regarding the deployment of UK police officers in Colombia to  (a) The Guardian newspaper and  (b) The Observer newspaper.

Tony McNulty: None.

Colombia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis the Serious Organised Crime Agency staff are deployed in Colombia; and what the consequent liability for their activities in that country is for the Government.

Vernon Coaker: SOCA staff are deployed overseas on the basis of an assessment of the harm posed to the UK from serious organised crime in that region, and on an understanding of where the best opportunities lie for tackling that harm. Such deployment is with the full knowledge of the host Government. SOCA staff deployed overseas have diplomatic accreditation and are therefore entitled to immunity from criminal, and within certain limited exceptions, jurisdictions of the receiving state.

Communications Officers

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many communications officers were employed on 1 July 2006 by  (a) the Home Office and  (b) the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

John Reid: There are 204 employees within Communications Directorate, 95 of whom are GCN (Government Communications Network) staff.
	As at February 2006 there were 84 posts (81 full time equivalents when taking into account part time working patterns) within Immigration and Nationality Directorate where staff were dedicated to undertaking communications roles. This figure includes but is not limited to press officers.

Community Call for Action

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources will be provided to  (a) local councils and  (b) local councillors to implement the Community Call for Action.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Community Call for Action available on the Home Office website at: http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/police-reform/2006-01-17-Community_Call_f1.pdf

Community Cohesion

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why there has been slippage in reducing race inequalities and building community cohesion in relation to Strategic Objective PSA7.

Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
	 Perceptions of discrimination by key public services
	The public service agreement examines an aggregate target; it seeks to decrease the percentage of BME people who believe that  one or more of the eight key public services (the five criminal justice system agencies (Police Service, Prison Service, Courts, CPS and Probation), local GPs, local schools and council housing / housing associations) would discriminate against them and the percentage of BME people feeling they would be treated worse than people of other races by  one or more of eight public service organisations has remained unchanged since 2001.
	These data are disappointing but it is positive to note that individually perceptions of discrimination among BME people across the range of key public services have fallen since 2001, with the exception of council housing/housing associations where the figure remains the same.
	We are keen to learn what the key factors are which influence people's views of prejudice and have commissioned research into the drivers of perception which will report this autumn. We are hopeful that final report from this research will enhance our knowledge in this area and our ability to assess what more might be done.
	 Perceptions of discrimination in the labour market
	On the labour market side, HOCS 2005 provided the first milestone since the 2003 baseline. Although there is no significant change on 2003, movement is in the right direction for one of the elements (refused a job). The percentage of people perceiving that they have been discriminated against because of their race when applying for a promotion did not change significantly although it has not moved positively in the direction we would have hoped.
	We recognise the need to address issues of progression in the work place for ethnic minorities The CRE's new "Code of Practice on Racial Equality in Employment" took effect from 6 April and will help business to promote diversity, by providing case studies, best practice and other practical guidance. In addition, the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force, led by my hon. Friend the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform is coordinating work to improve employment chances for ethnic minorities.
	 Perceptions of community cohesion
	As the data for this element of the target were only baselined in the Citizenship Survey 2005, there is no current slippage here.
	 General
	A perceptions based target, this objective is extremely challenging. It requires not just working towards ensuring that the experiences that people have are fair and can be seen to be fair, but also tackling the inequalities which still exist for many groups and being open about the progress we are making and the work which remains to be done.
	This work is a long term objective and the impact that any progress made has on changing perceptions broadly, may take time to be seen in the data collected for this PSA. The PSA forms part of the Government's strategy to increase race equality and community cohesion, "Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society", and the first annual progress report on this will be published this summer.

Convicted Irish Nationals

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation took place before the decision was authorised to deport lifelong UK resident Irish nationals who have completed prison sentences.

Liam Byrne: Under section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971, Irish citizens who were ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1973 (the date of the coming into force of the that Act) and who have been ordinarily resident five years prior to a court recommendation or decision to make a deportation order are exempt from deportation. Those Irish nationals who do not fall into this category may be removed under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 if it is decided that removal is justified on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health.

Convicted Irish Nationals

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rights of appeal exist for Irish nationals under notification of imminent removal to Ireland on completion of prison sentences.

Liam Byrne: Under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, Irish nationals have an in-country right of appeal against a decision to remove them.

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

Tony McNulty: Paragraph 5.28 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Corporate Hospitality

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what corporate hospitality Ministers in his Department have received in each month since January 2004.

Tony McNulty: Paragraph 5.28 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, of 12 January regarding UK policy on returning asylum seekers to Zimbabwe on behalf of Dr. Margaret Sherratt (acknowledgement reference 185435/05).

Tony McNulty: My hon. Friend the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality replied on 1 December 2005.

Correspondence

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 1 March from the hon. Member for Aylesbury about the case of Mr. N.T.H. of Aylesbury (Home Office reference P417261, LR1875033114 and B6093/6).

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 July 2006
	The Director General of the immigration and nationality directorate replied to the hon. Member's letter on 20 July 2006.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the immigration and nationality directorate will reply to the letter of 10 May 2006 from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on behalf of Sylvia Cumberbatch (Home Office reference C1145804, acknowledgment reference B12281I6).

Liam Byrne: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend on 24 July 2006.

Credit Cards

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the merits of placing a limit on the number of credit cards an individual may own at one time.

Vernon Coaker: Most consumers use credit in a productive and prudent way, however a small minority of individuals show signs of financial distress. The Government needs to strike the right balance between enabling a competitive consumer credit market, and protecting those at risk of over-indebtedness. It is the Government's view that the amount an individual can borrow is a matter between the individual and the lender concerned. Government, however, are working with lenders to promote responsible lending through increased data sharing and industry codes of practice.

Crime and Disorder Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998; if he will list the statutory instruments that have been made under this Act; and what recent representations he has received on the operation of the Act.

Tony McNulty: The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 contained a wide range of different measures designed to improve the protection of the public and the operation of the criminal justice system. Some of the main areas included the establishment of crime reduction partnership arrangements, the introduction of antisocial behaviour orders and of sex offender orders, the establishment of the Youth Justice Board, sentencing for both adults and juveniles, the establishment of the Sentencing Advisory Panel and the creation of specific racially aggravated offences. Although the measures in the Act have worked well, we have kept them under review and in the light of experience and of specific reviews we have made a number of changes to further improve them. In particular we have strengthened and improved upon the arrangements for antisocial behaviour orders and have built upon sex offender orders to create sexual offences prevention orders; we have extended racially aggravated offences to include religious aggravation; we have reviewed the whole of the sentencing framework for adults and introduced new arrangements in the Criminal Justice Act 2003; the youth justice arrangements have also been reviewed and proposals for change published in March 2004; and we have reviewed the partnership arrangements, with proposals for change being introduced in the Police and Justice Bill while others are subject to further consultation. The Government attaches a very high priority to public protection, the reduction of crime and to ensuring that the criminal justice system works effectively. We set out, in our document 'Rebalancing the Criminal Justice System in favour of the Law Abiding Majority', which we published on 20 July, further proposals for improvements across a range of areas. Representations are made from time to time in relation to individual provisions in the Act. The statutory instruments made under the Act are in the following list.
	 Orders made under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
	 S5
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Responsible Authorities) Order 2005, SI 2005/1789.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Responsible Authorities) (No 2) Order 2005, SI 2005/3343
	Crime and Disorder Strategies (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2004, SI 2004/118, as amended by SI 2004/696, SI 2004/865
	Crime and Disorder Strategies (Prescribed Descriptions) Order 1998, SI 1998/2452, as amended by SI 1998/2513. SI 1999/483, SI 2000/300, SI 2004/118 (revoking the Order in relation to England), SI 2005/617
	 S41
	Youth Justice Board for England and Wales Order 2000, SI 2000/1160.
	 S116
	Secure Training Order (Transitory Provisions) Order 1998, SI 1998/1928.
	 S121 (Commencement orders)
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 1) Order 1998, SI 1998/1883.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional Provisions) Order 1998, SI 1998/2327.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order 1998, SI 1998/2412.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 1998, SI 1998/2906.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 3 and Appointed Day) Order 1998, SI 1998/3263.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 4) Order 1999, SI 1999/1279.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 5) Order 1999, SI 1999/2976.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 6) Order 1999, SI 1999/3426.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 7) Order 2000, SI 2000/924.
	Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Commencement No 8) Order 2000, SI 2000/3283.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what vehicle crime reduction initiatives the Home Office has participated in since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office established the Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team (VCRAT) in September 1998 to develop and oversee implementation of a strategy to reduce vehicle crime. The strategy was published in 1999 and contributed to the reduction of 1,780,000 incidents of vehicle crime (51 per cent.) estimated by the British Crime Survey between 1997 and interviews in 2005-06. The main initiatives the Home Office has participated in since 1997 have included: supporting improved vehicle security through publication of security guidance documents aimed at manufacturers and publication of Car and Bike Theft Indices; spreading good practice, for example through the vehicle crime toolkit on the website www.crimereduction.gov.uk; improving car park security through support for the Safer Parking Scheme (owned by the Association of Chief Police Officers and managed by the British Parking Association).
	This includes financial support amounting to £1,409,000 over the period 2001-02 to 2005-06; making the motor salvage industry subject to statutory regulation under powers contained in the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001; and raising motorists' awareness of the steps they can take to prevent themselves becoming victims of car crime through national communications campaigns (with funding of £28.6 million over the period 1999-2000 to 2005-06) and other communications initiatives.

Crime Statistics

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were recorded in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Eastleigh borough,  (c) Hampshire,  (d) Portsmouth and  (e) Southampton involving (i) knives, (ii) guns and (iii) other offensive weapons in each year since 1995.

Vernon Coaker: Available data for firearms offences (excluding air weapons) relate only to police force area. Information for England and Wales and Hampshire is given in the following tables.
	Although the homicide figures record where a sharp or blunt instrument has been used, it is not possible to identify from recorded crime statistics whether other crimes involve the use of a knife or other offensive weapon.
	The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.
	
		
			  Table (A): Crimes recorded by the police in which firearms (excluding air weapons ) were reported to have been used,1995 to 2001-02 
			   England and Wales  Hampshire 
			 1995 5,866 39 
			 1996 6,063 48 
			 1997 4,904 29 
			 1998-99(1) 5,209 38 
			 1999-2000 6,843 52 
			 2000-01(2) 7,470 49 
			 2001-02 10,023 58 
			 (1) There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998.  (2) Numbers of some recorded crimes may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (B): Crimes recorded by the police in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used, 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   England and Wales  Hampshire 
			 2002-03(1) 10,248 97 
			 2003-04 10,338 130 
			 2004-05 10,964 148 
			 (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Crime Statistics

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were recorded in each year since 1997 in  (a) Houghton and Washington East constituency and  (b) the Sunderland city council area.

Tony McNulty: Information for the Houghton and Washington East constituency is not available centrally. The available information relates to the Sunderland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area and is given in the tables. Data were collected at CDRP level for six key offences only for 1999 and for all crime from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences in the Sunderland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			   Number of offences 
			 1999-2000 n/a 
			 2001-01 30,407 
			 2001-02 33,259 
			 n/a = not available 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded offences in the Sunderland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   Number of offences 
			 2002-03 38,196 
			 2003-04 34,612 
			 2004-05 30,447 
			 2005-06 28,429 
			  Note:  The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crime Statistics

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) burglaries and  (b) robberies there were in Brent in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Brent is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Data at CDRP level are only available from 1999-2000 and the available information is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences of burglary and robbery in Brent, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			   Burglary  Robbery 
			 1999-2000 3,320 2,014 
			 2000-01 4,441 1,941 
			 2001-02 4,099 2,359 
			  Notes: 1 . Figures for 1999-2000 are for domestic burglaries only.  2. Expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules came into effect on 1 April 1998. The figures in this table are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded offences of burglary and robbery in Brent, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   Burglary  Robbery 
			 2002-03 3,859 1,795 
			 2003-04 4,062 1,807 
			 2004-05 3,987 2,084 
			 2005-06 3,904 2,355 
			  Note:  The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crime Statistics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) arrests,  (b) charges and  (c) convictions for (i) sexual offences and (ii) theft of cars there have been in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Information requested on arrests for sexual offences can be found in the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Arrests for Recorded Crime (notifiable offences) and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE, England and Wales—Table AA refers. Copies are available from the Library.
	The information requested on arrests for theft of cars is not available centrally. Information on arrests is based on persons arrested for recorded crime "notifiable" offences by main offence group (i.e. theft and handling stolen goods, sexual offences, violence against the person and burglary etc) and therefore does not identify individual offences.
	Data on charges are not held centrally. However data from the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates court, and convicted of (i) sexual and (ii) theft of cars offences in England and Wales, 2000 to 2004, are contained in the following table.
	2004 data show the inclusion of a new list of offences brought under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into effect on 1 May 2004.
	Statistics for 2005 court proceedings will be available in the autumn of 2006.
	
		
			  Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for sexual offences( 1) , England and Wales, 2000 to 2004( 2, 3) 
			   Prosecuted  Guilty 
			 2000 7,141 3,894 
			 2001 8,424 4,043 
			 2002 9,102 4,384 
			 2003 9,121 4,355 
			 2004(4) 9,579 4,785 
			 (1) This includes Sexual Offences Act 1956, Mental Health Act 1959, Sexual Offences Act 2003, Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.57, Sex Offenders Act 1997 s.3(1) (a) and (b), Indecency with Children Act 1960 s.1.  (2 )These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (4 )2004 data show the inclusion of a new list of offences brought under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into effect on 1 May 2004.   Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Crime Statistics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences have been brought to justice in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is contained in Chapter 5 of "Criminal Statistics 2004" which can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1905.pdf
	Table 5.1 on page 96 gives figures for the number of offences brought to justice in England and Wales between 1998/99 and 2004/05. The Departmental Report for 2005-06 has just been published, please use the following link; http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/annual-report-06.pdf?view=Binary
	The provisional offences brought to justice figures for 2005 can be found on page 29, and reference is also made on pages 28, 75 and 94.
	Figures for 2005-06 will be published in the autumn of 2006.

Crime Statistics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many convictions for  (a) murder,  (b) rape,  (c) sexual assault,  (d) manslaughter and  (e) robbery have been (i) overturned, (ii) reduced and (iii) increased after appeal in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many convictions for  (a) murder,  (b) rape,  (c) sexual assault,  (d) manslaughter and  (e) robbery have been overturned in the last three years; and in how many cases of each type the sentence was reduced.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table sets out, for the past five years, the number of conviction appeals allowed, sentence appeals allowed and references by the Attorney General where the Court of Appeal Criminal Division decided to increase the sentence following review.
	All figures relate to cases where the named offence (including inchoate offences) was the main offence under consideration by the Court. However, some results may reflect circumstances where the court also reviewed other offences committed by the same applicant.
	
		
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Murder   
			 Conviction appeal allowed(1) 15 17 20 31 28 20 
			 Sentence appeal allowed(2) — — — — 16 49 
			 Sentence increased following review 0 1 2 2 2 1 
			
			  Manslaughter   
			 Conviction appeal allowed(1) 4 1 5 3 5 5 
			 Sentence appeal allowed(2) 20 22 28 33 17 24 
			 Sentence increased following review 1 4 3 3 1 1 
			
			  Rape   
			 Conviction appeal allowed(2) 28 21 26 23 35 18 
			 Sentence appeal allowed(2) 40 39 28 37 42 53 
			 Sentence increased following review 4 2 7 10 2 4 
			
			  Robbery   
			 Conviction appeal allowed(1) 23 16 7 19 26 14 
			 Sentence appeal allowed(1) 113 109 125 172 159 130 
			 Sentence increased following review 11 11 16 14 9 11 
			  Sexual assault( 3)   
			 Conviction appeal allowed(1) 22 19 24 25 28 26 
			 Sentence appeal allowed(2) 77 71 78 117 80 77 
			 Sentence increased following review 5 7 6 14 10 4 
			 (1 )Includes cases where a retrial was ordered or where any aspect of the appeal was allowed. (2 )Includes all cases where there was any reduction to sentence, including reduction in tariff or to a non-custodial element. (3 )Includes indecent assault but not convictions for similar offences assault by penetration, indecency with a child.

Crime Statistics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested in the last year for which figures are available.

John Reid: Number of persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) during 2004-05 (latest available) is 1.35 million.

Crime Statistics

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of  (a) drunkenness,  (b) driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs and  (c) causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in each year since 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each London borough.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, on the number of people convicted of  (a) drunkenness,  (b) driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs and  (c) causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each London Court Area from 2003 to 2004 can be found in the following tables, a copy of which I will place in the House Library. Note that the offence stated in part (iii) of the question relates to 'careless' driving rather than 'dangerous' driving. Because regional boundaries and court area boundaries differ slightly, totals for London may differ between tables when both breakdowns are used.
	Court proceeding statistics for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006.
	In addition to this, the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme was brought into effect in all police forces in England and Wales in 2004. Under the scheme the police are able to issue persons committing specified minor offences including being drunk in a highway and drunk and disorderly, with a fixed penalty notice. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability for the offence. Data on the number of PNDs issued for these offences in each police force area in England in 2004 and 2005 (provisional) can also be found in the following tables. It is not possible to identify the number of PNDs which were issued in each London borough as the data are not collected at that level of detail centrally.
	
		
			  Number of persons convicted at all courts for offences relating to 'drunkenness' and 'drunkenness with aggravation' by region, England 2003 to 2004( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Drunkenness, simple  Drunkenness, with aggravation 
			  Region  2003  2004  2003  2004 
			 North East 88 94 4,553 4,437 
			 North West 149 106 5,174 3,130 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 222 166 2,670 1,625 
			 East Midlands 78 64 1,233 960 
			 West Midlands 123 132 1,029 1,128 
			 East of England 293 242 1,434 1,138 
			 London 210 162 2,141 1,055 
			 South East 486 418 3,661 2,791 
			 South West 350 290 1,998 1,286 
			  
			 England 1,999 1,674 23,893 17,550 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete.  However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes the offence of "drunk and disorderly" [Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec.91] and other miscellaneous offences of drunkenness with aggravation. Drunkenness, simple includes offences under S.12 Licensing Act 1872, Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985 SS.1(4), 1A(4), 2.(2) and S.12 Criminal Justice & Police Act 2001  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons convicted at all courts for offences relating to driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, by region, England 2003 and 2004( 1, 2) 
			  Region  2003  2004 
			 North East 4,177 4,366 
			 North West 11,327 11,822 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 7,555 7,862 
			 East Midlands 6,138 6,621 
			 West Midlands 8,566 8,886 
			 East of England 8,177 8,605 
			 London 11,613 12,040 
			 South East 13,040 13,122 
			 South West 7,697 7,662 
			
			 England 78,290 80,986 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of people convicted at all courts for offences relating to causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, by region England 2003 to 2004( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Region  2003  2004 
			 North East 2 2 
			 North West 5 6 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 5 7 
			 East Midlands 9 12 
			 West Midlands 6 6 
			 East of England 7 7 
			 London 4 8 
			 South East 9 7 
			 South West 7 6 
			
			 Regions Total and Figure for England 54 61 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec 3A as added by the Road Traffic Act 1991 Sec 3 and amended by CJA 1993, Sec 67.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal Assets

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what value of criminal assets were recovered in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the Table.
	
		
			  Recovered criminal assets (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) 
			   Total recovered (£ million) 
			 2001-02 25.2 
			 2002-03 47.0 
			 2003-04 54.5 
			 2004-05 84.4 
			 2005-06 96.8

Criminal Assets

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sums from recovered criminal assets were allocated to police forces in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The allocation of recovered criminal assets to police forces was first introduced in 2004-05 under a new incentive scheme. A total of £13 million was distributed to police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on the basis each force's asset recovery performance in that year. A further £26 million was allocated to forces on the basis of performance in 2005-06.

Criminal Justice Boards

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets have been set for local criminal justice boards.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The targets that the Lord Chancellor, the Attorney-General and I have agreed with local criminal justice boards (LCJBs) for 2006-07 are set out in the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2006-07. Each LCJB has targets to: improve confidence in the CJS; increase victim and witness satisfaction; bring more offences to justice; improve the enforcement of fines, failure to appear warrants, community penalties and confiscation orders; and meet the Persistent Young Offender pledge. The CJS Business Plan 2006-07 can be accessed at http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/downloads/application/pdf/CJSpercent20Businesspercent20Planpercent202006-7.pdf

Criminal Justice IT Programme

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of the criminal justice IT programme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The organisations that make up the Criminal Justice System use a variety of information systems designed to meet their local needs, but which were not originally designed to share information with colleagues working in other criminal justice organisations.
	This is why, in response to the "Justice for All" Government White Paper, the Criminal Justice System Information Technology (CJS IT) programme was established in 2002 with the following vision: "By March 31 2008, anyone involved in the CJS—users of it or people working within it—should have access from any browser enabled device, to a seamless, coherent set of computer systems and information to cover the breadth of their dealings".
	The overall cost of the CJS IT programme, across both SR2002 and SR2004, is £1.95 billion. This funding is ring-fenced, with spending controlled by five key-holders: the Home Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Lord Chancellor, the Minister with responsibility for the CJS and the Director of Criminal Justice IT (CJIT).
	The programme sits under its own NCJB (National Criminal Justice Board) Sub-Group, chaired by the Minister with responsibility for the CJS—a role that has been delegated to me—dedicated to tracking progress and assisting in the resolution of cross-cutting issues.
	The programme also reports to the Operational Board of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform—a cross-departmental organisation that supports all criminal justice agencies in working together to provide an improved service to the public and which reports on an equal basis to the Home Office, Department for Constitutional Affairs and Law Officers' Department.
	Criminal Justice IT (CJIT), which was created to co-ordinate the CJS IT programme, is working with the criminal justice organisations to identify and implement ways to join up the individual processes, systems and services.
	CJIT has developed a set of key tools, techniques and repeatable processes to ensure successful delivery of this large-scale IT programme, many of which are creating best practice. These include evidence-based CJS IT portfolio prioritisation/investment appraisal, active benefits realisation, performance management, and full open, factual and transparent reporting to all stakeholders.
	Expenditure and deliverables for the CJS IT programme are approved annually by the five key-holders and monthly progress reports are provided to various governance bodies (including the Operational Board of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform) and key stakeholders (including Her Majesty's Treasury).

Criminal Records Bureau

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were made to the Criminal Records Bureau for  (a) enhanced and  (b) standard checks in the last year for which figures are available.

Joan Ryan: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given on 8 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1268W. In 2005, the Bureau received 293,615 standard disclosures and 2,443,207 enhanced disclosures.

Criminal Records Bureau

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average an applicant to the Criminal Records Bureau in  (a) November 2005 and  (b) February 2006 waited for a reply.

Joan Ryan: I refer my right hon. Friend to my written answer of 6 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1325W.

Custody

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) name,  (b) age,  (c) date, and  (d) place of death was of each child and young adult that died in custody in each of the last 30 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As publishing such details can cause distress to the families of those bereaved by a death in custody, I will write separately to the hon. Member with the information available.

Custody

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources have been made available to the Probation Service to implement Custody Plus under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

John Reid: In the Review of the Criminal Justice System published on 20 July we said that Custody Plus will not go ahead in autumn 2006 as previously planned.
	Preparatory work for Custody Plus was not accounted for separately from funding provided for the implementation of other sentencing provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Custody

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many custody suites there are in each constituency in Wales; where they are located; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for chief constables.
	
		
			  Constituency  Location 
			  Dyfed-Powys police  
			 Preseli Pembrokeshire Haverfordwest 
			 Llanelli Llanelli 
			 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Carmarthen 
			 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Ammanford 
			 Ceredigion Aberystwyth 
			 Ceredigion Cardigan 
			 Brecon and Radnorshire Brecon 
			 Montgomeryshire Newtown 
			 Montgomeryshire Welshpool(1) 
			 Brecon and Radnorshire Llandrindod Wells(1) 
			   
			  Gwent police  
			 Newport West Newport Central 
			 Newport East Maindee 
			 Newport East Caldicot 
			 Torfaen Cwmbran 
			 Torfaen Pontypool 
			 Monmouth Monmouth 
			 Monmouth Abergavenny 
			 Islwyn Blackwood 
			 Islwyn Risca 
			 Caerphilly Caerphilly 
			 Caerphilly Bargoed 
			 Caerphilly Ystrad Mynach 
			 Blaenau Gwent Ebbw Vale 
			 Blaenau Gwent Abertillery 
			 Blaenau Gwent Llanhilleth 
			 Blaenau Gwent Brynmawr 
			 Blaenau Gwent Tredegar 
			   
			  North Wales police  
			 Caernarfon Pwllheli 
			 Caernarfon Caernarfon 
			 Ynys Mon Holyhead 
			 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy Dolgellau 
			 Vale of Cwyd St. Asaph 
			 Delyn Mold 
			 Wrexham Wrexham 
			  South Wales police  
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney Merthyr Tydfil 
			 Cynon Valley Aberdare 
			 Pontypridd Pontypridd 
			 Rhondda Pentre 
			 Cardiff Central Cardiff Central 
			 Cardiff Central Roath 
			 Cardiff West Canton 
			 Cardiff West Fairwater 
			 Cardiff North Llanishen 
			 Cardiff South and Penarth Rumney 
			 Vale of Glamorgan Barry 
			 Bridgend Bridgend 
			 Bridgend Porthcawl 
			 Neath Neath 
			 Aberavon Port Talbot 
			 Swansea West Swansea 
			 Swansea West Cockett 
			 (1) Not usedno exercise facility

Damages

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 875W, on damages, what the cost is of obtaining the information requested; how many of his Department's lawyers worked on such cases of damages against his Department in the last period for which figures are available; how damages payments are accounted for in his Department's accounts; what steps he takes to minimise future claims; which Minister is responsible for monitoring such claims; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: No central record is kept by either the Home Department or the Treasury Solicitors department of the number of cases in which damages were paid or what the total sum paid out was. This information could be obtained only by searching through some 10,000 transaction sheets and then identifying the damages elements of these payments. This would involve a disproportionate cost. Detailed figures are not kept on how many lawyers are or have been involved in claims against the Home Office. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The way that damages payments are accounted for in the departmental accounts is seen in section 29, Losses and Special Payments, of the annual Resource Accounts. Also in the 2004-05 accounts there is a record in section 25, Contingent Liabilities, concerning the claims for compensation received by the Criminal Records Bureau. Ministers take responsibility for their own areas. Therefore ministerial responsibility for claims against the Home Office will depend on the particular area of the Department that the claim is made against.

Data Sharing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have  (a) to link and  (b) to enable data-sharing between the Children's Information Sharing Index and the National Identity Register.

Joan Ryan: The National Identity Register will not be linked to the Children's Information Sharing Index, nor are there plans for data-sharing between them.

Defendants' Anonymity

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received regarding anonymity for defendants in certain cases.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As of 25 July we had received seven items of correspondence since the beginning of this year, all of which concern defendant anonymity in sexual offences cases.

Departmental Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the value was of  (a) public opinion research and  (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in 2004-05 in (i) each (A) nation and (B) region of the UK and (ii) London;
	(2)  what the  (a) subject matter and  (b) dates were of opinion survey research undertaken by the Department and its agencies in the last 12 months; if he will place copies of the results of each survey in the Library; which companies were used in conducting the research; and how much each was paid.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office undertakes a wide range of research activities that support the development of information-led policy, including surveys of public opinion that consider Home Office issues and its related areas of responsibility. The Department commissions such work only when it is justified by the specific needs of a particular policy or programme and when this is the most economic, efficient and effective way to achieve the purpose. Consulting and informing the public helps inform both policy formulation and the delivery of better quality public services. A table showing the available information on the subject matter of market and opinion research undertaken in 2004-05 has been placed in the Library. Where this is for a specific region this has been indicated in the table, otherwise the coverage is for England and Wales (except for immigration topics). Information on the costs of individual market and opinion research projects is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Home Office has used external public relations companies to help deliver messages and advice to the public in press and magazines as part of integrated communication campaigns, often with a local focus. Campaigns include Year of the Volunteer, Holocaust Memorial Day, Sexual Offences Act, Crime and Anti Social Behaviour. A table showing spend on a monthly basis between September 2004 and October 2005 has also been placed in the Library.
	 Table to be placed in the House of Commons Library
	 Tablemarket and opinion research commissioned by the Home Office in 2004-05.
	A number of market and opinion research projects were ongoing in 2004-05 and were included in the table that was placed in the House of Commons Library in answer to the PQ from the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable),  Official Report, 28 January 2004, column 441W.
	In addition, market and opinion research has been undertaken on the following subject matter in 2004-05
	1. The Experiences of victims and witnesses;
	2. Criminal Justice System Stakeholder Opinions;
	3. Quarterly monitoring of volunteering;
	4. Barriers and MotivationsCitizen Governance;
	5. Organisational discrimination;
	6. Expectations and experiences of victims and offenders;
	7. Policing Reassurance;
	8. Opinions of the use of Community Support Officers;
	9. People's perception of the Licensing Act;
	10. Prisoners employment issues;
	11. Perceptions and Experiences of the North West Offender management Pathways (North West only);
	12. Forensic science issues.
	In addition the Home Office's communications directorate conduct market research to help develop and evaluate public information campaigns. The research is not peer reviewed and therefore has not been considered appropriate for 'official' publication.
	Market research quantitative studies for campaign evaluations commissioned by the Home Office communication directorate are as follows:
	Surveys of opinions of Holocaust Memorial Day/Year of Volunteer/Rights and Responsibilities;
	Crime Reduction issues;
	Vehicle Crime/Police tracking;
	Drugs FRANK campaigns and Cannabis;
	Police reform and internal issues;
	Single Emergency Number;
	Identity Cards;
	Community cohesion;
	Immigration
	 Research, Development and Statistics Directorate Projects
	All published RDS research is available on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pubsintro1.html.
	All Youth Justice Board surveys are available on the YJB website at www.youth-justice-board. gov.uk/publications.
	
		
			  Table: Amount spent by the Home Office on external media relations during the period from September 2004 to October 2005 
			
			 September 2004 73,420 
			 October 2004 88,660 
			 November 2004 106,341.70 
			 December 2004 106,324.36 
			 January 2005 162,806.40 
			 February 2005 160,023.11 
			 March 2005 195,283.87 
			 April 2005 91,574.60 
			 May 2005 86,525.90 
			 June 2005 85,455 
			 July 2005 91,135 
			 August 2005 101,828 
			 September 2005 104,630 
			 October 2005 103,005

Departmental Costs

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) salary bill was and  (b) administrative costs were for his Department in (i) each (A) nation and (B) region of the UK and (ii) London in 2004-05.

Liam Byrne: The total 2004-05 administration salary bill for the Department was 401 million, while total net 2004-05 administration costs came to 567 million. The Department does not monitor administrative costs by individual nation, or region or identify that incurred in London separately. The Department does however, monitor total identifiable expenditure on services, by function, country and region and this is set out in the 2006 Departmental Report (Cm 6818).

Departmental Costs

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of  (a) ministerial salaries and private offices and  (b) the three top tiers of officials and their offices in his Department in 2005-06.

Liam Byrne: The total cost of ministerial salaries and private offices and the top three tiers and their offices in the Home Office in 2005-06 form part of the departmental resource accounts. When finalised, I will write to the right hon. Member with the information he requests.

Departmental Credit Card

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facility is available for senior civil servants in his Department to use credit cards supplied by the Department.

Liam Byrne: There are no special purchasing card arrangements specifically for senior civil servants. However, the Department has adopted OGCbuying.solutions pre-tendered national frameworks for the Government Procurement Card (GPC) and Government Fuel Card facilities in line with best practice.

Departmental Databases (Security)

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) suspected and  (b) confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years.

John Reid: All incidents listed are confirmed security breaches. No areas have reported suspected security breaches.
	
		
			   Incidents 
			 2001-02 1 
			 2002-03 1 
			 2003-04  
			 2004-05 1 
			 2005-06 2

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent in each year since 1997 by his Department on salaries paid to civil servants.

Liam Byrne: I am advised that since 2002-03 the Department has published Resource Accounts, detailing gross salaries for the Home Department, which cover the core Department, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, HM Prison Service, UK Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau. Non-departmental public bodies and other public bodies are not included. The gross salary costs from resource accounts, for the last three available financial years, are in the following table. The costs comprise wages and salaries, social security costs and pension costs. These figures are taken from the Home Office resource accounts 2004-05, published on 31 January 2006.
	
		
			   000 
			 2004-05 2,728,309 
			 2003-04 485,861 
			 2002-03 2,239,197 
			  Note: Figures for previous financial years are not available on the same basis.

Departmental Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual expenditure on training and development by  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) Executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland was in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005-06.

Liam Byrne: The information in the following table has been extracted from the accounting systems of the Home Office and its sponsored bodies. Actual data are shown for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05 with a forecast of out-turn shown for 2005-06. These costs do not cover activities such as mentoring and desk-side training, or the cost of IT training which is bought as part of a PFI arrangement.
	It is not possible to produce an analysis of spend by region as the information is not held in this way in the accounting systems of all the bodies covered by this reply.
	
		
			  000 
			   Out-turn  Forecast 
			  Department, Agency, NPPB Etc.  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Core Home Office (1)73,200 17,745 (2)74,752 25,585 
			 Executive Agencies 25,342 24,753 24,688 31,565 
			 Non Ministerial Departments 424 (3)1,248 1,909 2,184 
			 Non Departmental Public Bodies 83,292 (4)112,488 104,483 108,578 
			 Public Corporation 3,142 3,136 3,450 (5)2,164 
			 Other Public Body 42,600 (6)59,299 66,944 (7)52,047 
			 Grand Total 228,234 218,914 276,529 227,863 
			 (1) This includes 54,827,000 that was spent on training the police in the use of DNA.  (2) 47,531,000 was spent on the police training reform.  (3) From this year expenditure by the Assets Recovery Agency is included.  (4) The main reason of the increase is that Centrex's recruitment was slow for 2002-03 and there was a substantial increase in their 2003-04 budget.  (5) The expenditure is from 1 April to 4 December 2005 when the Forensic Science Service ceased to be a trading fund and became a private limited company wholly owned by the Government.  (6) There were increased numbers of trainee probation officers and from 2003-04 their university fees could be accounted for separately.  (7) The year-by-year changes in expenditure reflect changes in the number of trainee probation officers.

Departmental Grants

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations received grants or other income from his Department in the last 12 months, broken down by amount.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office is currently preparing its 2005-06 accounts for audit. Information on grant payments will be contained within the published Home Office Resource Accounts.

Departmental IT

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Liam Byrne: Details of the five largest information technology contracts agreed by the Department inclusive of its executive agencies over the last five years are as shown. The outturn costs show sums actually paid under the contract during its lifetime, or so far paid for ongoing contracts.
	
		
			   million 
			  Contract  Original estimated value  Most recent estimated value  Outturn cost 
			 Criminal Records Bureau PPP Agreement: Capita 400 400 (1)195.2 
			 NOMS Offender Management National Infrastructure (OMNI): Steria 250 250 (2) 
			 IND Procurement of Infrastructure, Development and Support (IPIDS): Atos (3) (4) (1)37 
			 NPD STEPS: Steria 84.8 (5) (6)95 
			 CIS Exchange and Hosting, Fujitsu 17.5 26 (1)8.5 
			 (1) To date.  (2) Nil to date.  (3) 200 over six years from November 2004.  (4) Estimate currently unchanged. (5) Ended 31 December 2005. (6) Complete.

Departmental Organisation

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will instruct his officials to develop a criminal justice, immigration and mental health flow chart to identify the different routes that offenders follow and to assist in identifying and resolving gaps in the system.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made clear in his written statement of 23 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 78-81WS, there have never been systematic arrangements in place for collecting information on the nationality of mentally disordered offenders, referring them to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and considering them for deportation. He has tasked officials to construct arrangements for considering deportation where appropriate for people in this group taking account of their very specific circumstances. This work is ongoing and as part of this, appropriate pathways are being developed for the management of mentally disordered offenders.

Departmental Pay and Pensions

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of his Department's Pay and Pensions Service staff  (a) are attending and  (b) are due to attend the Dale Carnegie training courses, broken down by grade.

Liam Byrne: The Investment in Teamworking Programme is run on behalf of HOPPS by Dale Carnegie Training. The programme is compulsory for all HOPPS staff. HOPPS is spilt in to three business areas; Pay Service, Pensions Service and Business Support Section. Staff from Pay Service and Business Support have either already attended the programme or have been allocated to the next round of sessions which begin on 20 July.Staff from Pensions Service will be allocated places on the Programme in the autumn. The breakdown of past and anticipated future attendance is as follows.
	
		
			  Grade  Attended  Due to attend 
			 Administrative Assistant 9 21 
			 SGB1 1 0 
			 Typist 0 1 
			 Administrative Officer 40 79 
			 Executive Officer 31 39 
			 Higher Executive Officer 11 21 
			 Senior Executive Officer 6 8 
			 Grade seven 0 3

Departmental Pay and Pensions

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the pension liability of his Department over the next 30 years.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to Her Majesty's Treasury technical Note, which was placed in the Library following an oral statement in Parliament by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 2 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 388-90.
	Pension liabilities are not estimated for individual departments, but are estimated for individual pension schemes. The breakdown of liabilities for individual schemes is shown in Table 1 of the technical Note.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in date order  (a) Green and  (b) White Papers produced by his Department since October 2005.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Green and White Papers produced since October 2005 
			  Title  Date issued 
			 Preventing Extremism TogetherPlaces of Worship 6 October 2005 
			 Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-offending 20 October 2005 
			 Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2004 (Cm 6690) 22 November 2005 
			 Rebuilding LivesSupporting Victims of Crime (Cm 6705) 7 December 2005 
			 BriberyReform of the Prevention of Corruption Acts and SFO Powers in Cases of Bribery of Foreign Officials 8 December 2005 
			 Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals: Great Britain 2004 (Cm 6713) 8 December 2005 
			 Home Office Targets Autumn Performance Report 2005 (Cm 6707) 19 December 2005 
			 Tackling Human TraffickingConsultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan 5 January 2006 
			 A Five Year Strategy for Protecting the Public and Reducing Re-Offending (Cm 6717) 9 February 2006 
			 New Code of Professional Standards for Police Officers 27 February 2006 
			 A Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain (Cm 6741) 7 March 2006 
			 Government Reply to the First Joint Report from the Home Affairs and Work and Pensions Committees, Session 2005-06, on the Draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill (Cm 6755) 8 March 2006 
			 Prison Service Pay Review BodyFifth Report on England and Wales 2006 (Cm 6745) 31 March 2006 
			 Countering International Terrorism: The United Kingdom's Strategy (Cm 6888) 10 July 2006 
			 New Powers Against Organised and Financial Crime (Cm 6875) 17 July 2006 
			 Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales Annual Report 2005-2006 (Cm 6873) 18 July 2006 
			 Home Office Departmental Report 2006 (Cm 6818) 20 July 2006 
			 Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals: Great Britain 2005 (Cm 6877) 24 July 2006 
			 Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2005 (Cm 6904) 22 August 2006

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the unnumbered Command papers produced by his Department in each session since 1976; by what means  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Department on 18 July 2005. No unnumbered Command Papers have been produced since the end of June 2005 although the Department has published a number of departmental publications as well as several numbered Command Papers through TSO. The list on the website of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), www.opsi.gov.uk, of Command Papers from 2001 onwards continues to be updated and allows searching by Department or numerically. All Command Papers presented to the House are recorded in the Commons Journal and are available in the Library of the House.
	Departmental publications that are still in print in paper form may be obtained through the Home Office public inquiry unit. TSO bookshops sell Command Papers and other priced publications. The Home Office website www.homeoffice.gov.uk provides access to many recent publications in electronic formats.
	Copies of most Home Office departmental publications since 1976 have been sent to the deposit libraries under the legislation in force at the time and will be available to hon. Members and the public in accordance with the conditions of use of each library. Many public library authorities are able to obtain copies of Home Office publications that they do not already stock through long-established inter-lending arrangements.

Departmental Report

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Home Office 2006 Departmental Report, how the 97 million of criminal assets was distributed.

Vernon Coaker: 26 million was allocated to police forces under the police asset recovery incentive scheme. 9.1 million was allocated to the Crown Prosecution Service for proceeds of crime work. 13.5 million was provided to increase front line asset recovery capacity and activity, including 9.4 million for five multi-agency Regional Asset Recovery Teams. A further 2.6 million was made available to fund additional financial investigators in police forces. In addition, 1.5 million was used to fund a Confiscation Enforcement Task Force. The remainder was used by the Home Office in recognition of its broader responsibility for crime reduction, and contributing towards delivery of our crime and community safety objectives.

Departmental Staff

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department at  (a) executive officer level or equivalent and  (b) higher executive officer level or equivalent are employed on temporary contracts.

Liam Byrne: The available figures are in the following table.
	
		
			   Executive officer level on temporary contracts  Higher executive officer level or equivalent on temporary contracts 
			  Immigration and Nationality Department (includes Immigration Officers)   
			 Casual 12 19 
			 Agency 75 37 
			 Other 2 26 
			
			  Core (including National Offenders Managements HQ)   
			 Casual 10 16 
			 Agency 70 25 
			 Other 14 (1)44 
			
			  HM Prison Service   
			 Casual 63 20 
			 Agency 26 4 
			
			  UK Passport Agency 13 31 
			 Total 285 222 
			 (1) The definition of temporary contract which has been used is the ONS 'non-permanent' category and includes staff on fixed term appointments.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension.

Liam Byrne: A total of 552 Home Office staff currently contribute to Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) schemes to supplement their Civil Service Pension. This represents 0.65 per cent. of all employees on the Home Office payroll.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people, and at what grades, are employed in his Department to work on criminal justice aspects of drugs and alcohol misuse.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 15 March 2006,  Official Report, column 308W.
	The breakdown by grade is set out in the following table. These are the most recent available data and differ from the information provided in March.
	
		
			  Grades   Drugs  Alcohol 
			 Senior Civil Service 6 0 
			 Grade 6 10 3 
			 Grade 7 29 5 
			 Senior Executive Officer 27 2 
			 Higher Executive Officer 28 2 
			 Executive Officer 26 2 
			 Administrative Officer 22 0 
			 Administrative Assistant 1 0 
			 Senior Personal Secretary 1 0 
			 Personal Secretary 6 1 
			 Grade not recorded centrally(1) 7 0 
			 June 2006 164 15 
			 February 2006(2) 181 15 
			 (1) Staff joining recently or in transit. (2) Figure used in 15 March PQ difference is due to time.

Departmental Staff

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of senior managers within the  (a) Serious Organised Crime Agency,  (b) National Offender Management Service,  (c) Immigration and Nationality Directorate,  (d) Identity and Passport Service,  (e) Criminal Records Bureau and  (f) Forensic Science Service are (i) female and (ii) male; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The available figures are set out in the table. The definitions of senior management differs in some areas and figures are for Senior Civil Service grades except for the Prison Service, and Serious Organised Crime Agency where they list senior managers at Grade seven and above, and for Criminal Records Bureau which list their senior managers at Senior Executive Officer and above. Data is at 30 June 2006 except for National Offender Management Service staff in HQ and for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate which is for 31 March 2006. In addition the data for the National Probation Service was only available as at the end of 2005. As a result it has not been possible to provide a consistent figure for the total staff in NOMS. Forensic Science Service ceased to be a Home Office Agency and became a government limited company (Govco) in December 2006. Its figures are for the five SCS equivalent staff.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Female  Male 
			  (a) Serious Organised Crime Agency 10.61 89.87 
			  (b) National Offender Management Service (NOMS) comprising:   
			 HM Prison Service 31.80 68.19 
			 National Probation Service 16.67 83.33 
			 NOMS HQ 34.48 65.5 
			  (c) Immigration and Nationality Directorate 32.56 67.44 
			  (d) Identity and Passport Service 40 60 
			  (e) Criminal Records Bureau 46 47 
			  (f) Forensic Science Service 0 100

Departmental Staff

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff vacancies there are in  (a) the probation service,  (b) the Prison Service and  (c) the immigration and nationality directorate.

John Reid: The number of staff vacancies for the probation service, the Prison Service and the immigration and nationality directorate are detailed as follows.
	 (a) In the probation service on the 31 March 2006 there were 977.32 full-time equivalent (FTE) active vacancies in the NPS, and active vacancies accounted for 5.30 per cent. of the available posts in the organisation.
	 (b) In the Prison Service on 30 June 2006 within the public sector Prison Service there was a variation of 874 between operational staffing requirement and staffing availability. Staffing availability includes the contribution made by officers working contract supplementary hours and agency workers as well as permanent and casual members of staff.
	 (c) In the immigration and nationality directorate there is no precise figure for vacancies, the level of which will vary depending on a number of factors including volumes of business, forecasts of future staff turnover and assessments of affordability. As an indication, the difference between the number of staff in post at the end of March and the planned average strength for 2006-07 was around 400.

Departmental Website

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department's website was last updated to make it more user-friendly; and if the Department will take steps to ensure that audio-visual material is used in addition to text.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office website was redeveloped throughout 2005 and a more user-friendly version was published in October that year, aimed specifically at the general public. The new site was developed according to principles of user-centred design and was recognised in a recent independent report published by Porter  Precedent as being the best of the 32 UK public sector websites they assessed. Particular praise was given to the accessible, user-friendly site design and navigation. The Home Office will publish audio-visual material on the site if it is appropriate to do so and if there is relevant material. Audio-visual content is already published on some parts of the Home Office website.

Deportation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost was of deportation evaluations of foreign prisoners carried out by his Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: This information is not available other than at disproportionate cost.

Deportation

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account is taken of whether Irish nationals have been resident in the UK from birth when considering cases for deportation from the UK to Ireland.

Liam Byrne: Under section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971, Irish citizens who were ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1973 (the date of the coming into force of the that Act) and who have been ordinarily resident five years prior to a court recommendation or decision to make a deportation order are exempt from deportation. Those Irish nationals who do not fall into this category may be removed under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 if it is decided that removal is justified on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health.

Deportation

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were deported from the UK in each year since 1997, broken down by nationality.

Liam Byrne: The total number of deportations from the UK broken down by nationality is not available.
	The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is currently putting in place new processes to improve its data collection systems for the future in this area.

Detection Rates

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rate was in 2005-06 for  (a) theft and handling stolen goods,  (b) fraud and forgery,  (c) criminal damage,  (d) violence against the person,  (e) sexual offences,  (f) robbery and  (g) all violent crime calculated by the methodology used to calculate the figures presented in Table 7.03 of Crime in England and Wales 2004-05.

John Reid: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Overall detection rates for crime in England and Wales 2005-06 
			  Offence group  Percentage detected 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 18 
			 Fraud and forgery 29 
			 Criminal damage 15 
			 Violence against the person 54 
			 Sexual offences 35 
			 Robbery 18 
			 All violent crime 50

DNA Database

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA profiles are held of individuals who are  (a) under 16,  (b) 16 to 18,  (c) 19 to 21 and  (d) over 21 years, broken down by police force area.

John Reid: The information requested for the police forces in England and Wales is shown in the following table. The figures given are the number of DNA subject sample profiles held on the National DNA Database as at 18 July 2006 and not the number of individuals. Some individuals may have more than one profile on the Database due to replicate sampling. It is estimated that the current level of replication on the Database is about 10 per cent.
	
		
			  Number of DNA subject profiles on the National DNA Database 
			  Force  Under 16s  16-18  19 to 21  Over 21 years 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,272 3,202 5,088 61,488 
			 Bedfordshire 1,349 1,791 2,464 28,342 
			 British Transport 946 1,813 2,779 24,577 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,740 2,194 3,134 31,294 
			 Cheshire 2,411 3,083 4,530 50,256 
			 City of London police 44 144 ,370 17,963 
			 Cleveland 1,858 2,114 3,290 31,055 
			 Cumbria 1,656 1,939 2,603 27,887 
			 Derbyshire 3,082 3,342 4,531 52,703 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,186 4,202 6,006 68,133 
			 Dorset 1,525 2,128 3,078 30,732 
			 Durham 2,162 2,368 3,113 32,278 
			 Dyfed- Powys 1,422 1,721 2,717 32,986 
			 Essex 4,698 5,658 7,363 72,940 
			 Gloucestershire 1,443 1,725 2,489 28,379 
			 Greater Manchester police 9,801 11,338 14,895 151,884 
			 Gwent 1,441 1,982 3,195 33,966 
			 Hampshire 4,992 6,355 8,798 88,570 
			 Hertfordshire 2,540 3,349 4,659 44,863 
			 Humberside 2,502 2,971 4,446 54,490 
			 Kent 5,175 6,265 8,619 87,488 
			 Lancashire 4,205 5,528 8,435 87,652 
			 Leicestershire 2,152 2,762 3,660 42,632 
			 Lincolnshire 1,441 1,738 2,708 28,635 
			 Merseyside 2,657 4,111 6,996 82,147 
			 Metropolitan Police 13,174 24,179 38,631 502,917 
			 Norfolk 1,593 2,097 3,255 43,580 
			 North Yorkshire 1,687 2,283 3,363 34,124 
			 Northamptonshire 792 1,124 1,950 29,562 
			 Northumbria 7,125 7,532 10,409 101,520 
			 Nottingham 3,327 4,034 5,496 62,791 
			 North Wales 1,577 2,341 3,521 37,849 
			 South Wales Constabulary 2,792 4,114 6,923 79,181 
			 South Yorkshire 4,100 4,899 6,956 73,392 
			 Staffordshire 2,889 3,893 5,647 60,282 
			 Suffolk 1,879 2,296 3,023 27,732 
			 Surrey 1,745 2,365 3,777 36,687 
			 Sussex 3,684 4,777 6,186 67,838 
			 Thames Valley 4,005 5,063 7,437 89,546 
			 Warwickshire police 1,030 1,283 1,824 18,175 
			 West Mercia 2,517 3,324 4,543 46,626 
			 West Midlands 8,863 11,209 16,074 182,009 
			 West Yorkshire 8,886 9,220 11,988 129,685 
			 Wiltshire 1, 612 2,254 3,016 32,048 
			 Total Number. of profiles 139,977 182,110 263,985 2,948,884 
			 Grand Total 3,534,956 
			  
			 Number of individuals (no of profiles x0..9) 125,979 163,899 237,587 2,653,996 
			 Grand Total 3,181,460

Domestic Violence

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests for domestic violence have been made in each  (a) London borough and  (b) constituency in each of the last five years, broken down by the offender's (i) age and (ii) ethnic origin; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) collect data at London borough level on domestic violence-related arrests broken down by offender's age and ethnicity (see tables). The MPS do not collect data at constituency level. The data demonstrates a steady increase in domestic violence-related arrests by the MPS. This is in line with the Home Office's objectives of increasing the reporting of domestic violence and police pro-activity in responding to domestic violence.
	
		
			  Age 
			   2001-02 
			  Borough  1-17  18-29  30-39  40-49  50-59  60+  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 15 61 57 21 1 1 156 
			 Barnet 8 52 80 55 13 3 211 
			 Bexley 20 60 81 25 5 3 194 
			 Brent 12 85 127 41 16 4 285 
			 Bromley 7 38 68 23 12 2 150 
			 Camden 4 52 66 35 9 3 169 
			 Croydon 12 129 127 54 28 2 352 
			 Ealing 19 138 139 87 13 10 406 
			 Enfield 9 81 84 52 19 2 247 
			 Greenwich 22 135 125 61 14 2 359 
			 Hackney 27 210 196 75 22 16 546 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 12 85 121 55 14 9 296 
			 Haringey 15 92 114 52 6 8 287 
			 Harrow 21 102 113 56 16 2 310 
			 Havering 13 61 63 32 11 3 183 
			 Heathrow 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Hillingdon 6 64 99 45 22 6 242 
			 Hounslow 20 132 91 52 10 5 310 
			 Islington 11 112 158 64 14 14 373 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1 34 40 24 12 1 112 
			 Kingston upon Thames 11 43 34 29 7 1 125 
			 Lambeth 10 76 132 49 8 5 280 
			 Lewisham 12 168 158 74 13 4 429 
			 Merton 14 50 41 25 9 3 142 
			 Newham 10 105 116 40 7 2 280 
			 Redbridge 3 67 59 43 9 1 182 
			 Richmond upon Thames 14 37 55 24 4 2 136 
			 Southwark 14 144 176 87 22 4 447 
			 Sutton 5 33 47 18 8 0 111 
			 Tower Hamlets 13 76 66 24 1 3 183 
			 Waltham Forest 9 88 81 36 7 6 227 
			 Wandsworth 8 66 86 37 11 7 215 
			 Westminster 5 79 83 37 10 6 220 
			 Grand total 382 2,756 3,083 1,433 373 140 8,167 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 
			   2002-03 
			  Borough  1-17  18-29  30-39  40-49  50-59  60+  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 23 117 135 52 6 2 335 
			 Barnet 7 60 89 41 11 1 209 
			 Bexley 12 103 96 41 15 0 267 
			 Brent 17 97 129 73 12 10 338 
			 Bromley 9 105 130 49 23 5 321 
			 Camden 8 73 114 55 20 7 277 
			 Croydon 20 109 127 51 11 6 324 
			 Ealing 25 168 228 121 31 14 587 
			 Enfield 16 91 114 50 20 6 297 
			 Greenwich 25 148 153 70 15 3 414 
			 Hackney 29 157 181 88 30 10 495 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 9 79 118 47 14 9 276 
			 Haringey 29 109 115 60 14 7 334 
			 Harrow 25 132 146 75 21 7 406 
			 Havering 10 101 107 69 19 3 309 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Hillingdon 5 79 90 42 15 7 238 
			 Hounslow 23 112 121 65 19 6 346 
			 Islington 12 83 103 35 9 1 243 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4 63 80 50 13 2 212 
			 Kingston upon Thames 6 51 52 21 11 1 142 
			 Lambeth 18 144 125 83 12 7 389 
			 Lewisham 10 146 138 52 11 9 366 
			 Merton 9 39 50 24 11 1 134 
			 Newham 15 166 178 72 9 6 446 
			 Redbridge 12 77 90 30 18 3 230 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3 35 64 31 12 6 151 
			 Southwark 9 169 170 81 12 6 447 
			 Sutton 18 50 78 26 9 2 183 
			 Tower Hamlets 183 11 132 97 47 9 3 
			 Waltham Forest 14 72 73 31 82 200 9 
			 Wandsworth 19 89 114 63 17 4 306 
			 Westminster 5 69 98 42 8 3 225 
			 Grand total 457 3,225 3,703 1,738 465 159 9,747 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 
			   2003-04 
			  Borough  1-17  18-29  30-39  40-49  50-59  60+  U/R  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 38 117 115 58 11 3 0 342 
			 Barnet 8 67 63 29 15 2 0 184 
			 Bexley 15 87 109 38 9 2 0 260 
			 Brent 20 79 88 51 13 3 0 254 
			 Bromley 12 120 143 69 19 5 0 368 
			 Camden 6 98 120 70 21 8 0 323 
			 Croydon 19 95 167 56 30 10 0 377 
			 Ealing 16 132 158 75 24 6 0 411 
			 Enfield 14 103 106 54 17 5 0 299 
			 Greenwich 24 162 110 79 12 2 1 390 
			 Hackney 10 129 106 73 11 4 0 333 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 19 95 74 54 22 8 0 272 
			 Haringey 17 99 107 47 7 7 0 284 
			 Harrow 14 98 101 78 21 2 0 314 
			 Havering 7 55 77 27 11 5 0 182 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 12 72 68 39 6 4 0 201 
			 Hounslow 26 98 92 53 13 3 0 285 
			 Islington 19 95 103 48 19 4 0 288 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 47 52 42 5 4 0 153 
			 Kingston upon Thames 8 41 42 28 3 0 0 122 
			 Lambeth 14 168 163 77 28 5 0 455 
			 Lewisham 17 148 183 64 18 9 0 439 
			 Merton 24 91 119 42 18 6 0 300 
			 Newham 18 109 111 52 13 3 0 306 
			 Redbridge 5 76 90 39 9 2 0 221 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3 44 55 30 12 8 0 152 
			 Southwark 10 105 136 54 11 7 0 323 
			 Sutton 10 51 62 32 15 2 0 172 
			 Tower Hamlets 299 7 94 111 62 17 6 0 
			 Waltham Forest 9 96 95 45 10 6 0 261 
			 Wandsworth 5 58 79 30 5 3 0 180 
			 Westminster 8 101 115 52 9 12 0 297 
			 Grand total 437 3,030 3,320 1,647 454 156 1 9,045 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 
			   2004-05 
			  Borough  1-17  18-29  30-39  40-49  50-59  60+  U/R  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 33 116 95 47 9 3 0 303 
			 Barnet 13 82 103 59 15 3 0 275 
			 Bexley 24 84 81 57 17 0 0 263 
			 Brent 25 134 135 102 26 9 0 431 
			 Bromley 17 121 127 59 21 4 0 349 
			 Camden 17 151 154 91 43 7 0 463 
			 Croydon 38 162 155 91 23 6 0 475 
			 Ealing 26 166 184 103 27 11 0 517 
			 Enfield 27 104 127 67 11 1 0 337 
			 Greenwich 20 176 119 59 22 1 0 397 
			 Hackney 12 136 155 93 13 7 0 416 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 15 60 39 38 12 5 0 169 
			 Haringey 22 119 129 74 22 5 0 371 
			 Harrow 9 112 103 76 11 9 0 320 
			 Havering 12 69 90 57 14 6 0 248 
			 Heathrow 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Hillingdon 16 90 85 58 8 4 0 261 
			 Hounslow 24 133 93 62 19 6 0 337 
			 Islington 19 106 97 70 17 3 0 312 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4 37 40 19 9 1 0 110 
			 Kingston upon Thames 13 54 54 35 6 0 0 162 
			 Lambeth 25 150 155 74 16 5 0 425 
			 Lewisham 21 167 170 92 22 7 0 479 
			 Merton 21 61 60 39 4 3 0 188 
			 Newham 24 117 119 76 6 4 0 346 
			 Redbridge 8 78 62 43 18 4 0 213 
			 Richmond upon Thames 15 46 39 21 9 3 0 133 
			 Southwark 27 122 101 64 19 3 1 337 
			 Sutton 7 65 55 49 14 8 0 198 
			 Tower Hamlets 27 182 143 65 14 6 0 437 
			 Waltham Forest 19 104 121 63 23 8 1 339 
			 Wandsworth 6 65 71 39 8 7 0 196 
			 Westminster 8 87 106 62 15 4 0 282 
			 Grand total 594 3,457 3,367 2,004 513 153 2 10,090 
		
	
	continued
	
		
			  Age 
			   2005-06 
			  Borough  1-17  18-29  30-39  40-49  50-59  60+  U/R  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 31 126 109 82 12 3 0 363 
			 Barnet 13 126 123 61 16 6 0 345 
			 Bexley 3 99 106 57 19 5 0 289 
			 Brent 7 95 80 50 18 9 0 259 
			 Bromley 4 98 100 59 20 7 0 288 
			 Cam en 20 198 177 104 34 6 0 539 
			 Croydon 3 160 144 94 23 3 0 427 
			 Ealing 23 140 128 81 34 7 1 414 
			 Enfield 34 124 112 84 25 4 0 383 
			 Greenwich 4 178 171 91 37 7 0 488 
			 Hackney 23 163 160 98 23 8 0 475 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 14 46 56 40 7 5 0 168 
			 Haringey 21 131 129 78 18 3 0 380 
			 Harrow 7 96 86 68 14 4 0 275 
			 Havering 12 149 151 94 36 6 0 448 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 30 144 91 69 19 7 0 360 
			 Hounslow 20 143 109 69 27 6 0 374 
			 Islington 8 158 141 63 10 3 0 383 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 5 72 68 46 20 2 0 213 
			 Kingston upon Thames 24 51 48 26 6 6 0 161 
			 Lambeth 14 155 151 103 22 5 0 450 
			 Lewisham 12 272 229 159 31 8 0 711 
			 Merton 15 87 113 43 9 5 0 272 
			 Newham 4 166 159 76 21 5 0 431 
			 Red bridge 7 94 87 52 20 3 0 263 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4 50 58 38 17 4 0 171 
			 Southwark 16 200 172 91 32 5 1 517 
			 Sutton 11 75 83 52 11 3 0 235 
			 Tower Hamlets 20 240 184 83 38 6 0 571 
			 Waltham Forest 4 163 178 112 27 10 0 494 
			 Wandsworth 8 124 96 71 27 10 0 336 
			 Westminster 7 83 83 59 23 8 0 263 
			 Grand Total 428 4,206 3,882 2,353 696 179 2 11,746 
			 U/R = Unrecorded 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2001-02 
			  Borough  White European  Dark European  African/Caribbean  Indian/Pakistani 
			 Barking and Dagenham 121 4 22 9 
			 Barnet 127 17 43 23 
			 Bexley 160 8 18 8 
			 Brent 88 15 141 34 
			 Bromley 128 4 14 2 
			 Camden 101 10 38 17 
			 Croydon 186 9 135 17 
			 Ealing 181 8 97 103 
			 Enfield 140 46 51 5 
			 Greenwich 263 7 71 12 
			 Hackney 178 60 285 19 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 183 10 93 4 
			 Haringey 123 41 105 16 
			 Harrow 173 6 74 45 
			 Havering 167 4 12 0 
			 Heathrow 0 0 1 1 
			 Hillingdon 172 10 24 30 
			 Hounslow 173 8 30 94 
			 Islington 218 51 94 9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 56 3 30 9 
			 Kingston upon Thames 97 3 11 7 
			 Lambeth 113 10 141 8 
			 Lewisham 200 26 182 13 
			 Merton 101 1 28 10 
			 Newham 109 2 101 65 
			 Redbridge 87 13 37 40 
			 Richmond upon Thames 111 2 10 9 
			 Southwark 190 16 217 13 
			 Sutton 95 5 10 1 
			 Tower Hamlets 96 3 28 53 
			 Waltham Forest 116 11 72 26 
			 Wandsworth 107 4 95 5 
			 Westminster 105 17 48 16 
			 Grand total 4,465 434 2,358 723 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2001-02 
			  Borough  Chinese/Japanese  Arabian/Egyptian  Unrecorded  Annual total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 0 0 156 
			 Barnet 1 0 0 211 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 194 
			 Brent 2 5 0 285 
			 Bromley 1 1 0 150 
			 Camden 1 2 0 169 
			 Croydon 3 1 1 352 
			 Ealing 2 15 0 406 
			 Enfield 0 3 2 247 
			 Greenwich 3 2 1 359 
			 Hackney 3 0 1 546 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2 4 0 296 
			 Haringey 1 1 0 287 
			 Harrow 2 10 0 310 
			 Havering 0 0 0 183 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 2 
			 Hillingdon 4 2 0 242 
			 Hounslow 1 4 0 310 
			 Islington 0 1 0 373 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 5 9 0 112 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1 6 0 125 
			 Lambeth 4 4 0 280 
			 Lewisham 6 1 1 429 
			 Merton 0 2 0 142 
			 Newham 2 1 0 280 
			 Redbridge 2 2 1 182 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2 2 0 136 
			 Southwark 4 5 2 447 
			 Sutton 0 0 0 111 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 3 0 183 
			 Waltham Forest 1 1 0 227 
			 Wandsworth 2 2 0 215 
			 Westminster 4 30 0 220 
			 Grand total 59 119 9 8,167 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2002-03 
			  Borough  White European  Dark European  African/Caribbean  Indian/Pakistani 
			 Barking and Dagenham 251 4 46 28 
			 Barnet 140 13 39 12 
			 Bexley 230 5 19 12 
			 Brent 90 8 189 40 
			 Bromley 253 13 45 10 
			 Camden 152 13 63 27 
			 Croydon 169 11 119 23 
			 Ealing 224 16 151 171 
			 Enfield 135 66 74 19 
			 Greenwich 273 16 108 14 
			 Hackney 179 59 214 32 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 147 10 94 12 
			 Haringey 123 50 144 11 
			 Harrow 195 11 103 86 
			 Havering 273 4 24 7 
			 Heathrow 1 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 171 4 19 41 
			 Hounslow 211 8 55 69 
			 Islington 103 29 97 6 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 115 17 60 4 
			 Kingston upon Thames 110 5 12 4 
			 Lambeth 123 24 230 5 
			 Lewisham 169 23 162 6 
			 Merton 86 7 28 11 
			 Newham 184 12 140 103 
			 Redbridge 104 5 52 66 
			 Richmond upon Thames 131 4 7 4 
			 Southwark 198 14 210 19 
			 Sutton 153 3 16 8 
			 Tower Hamlets 131 10 53 103 
			 Waltham Forest 106 13 60 20 
			 Wandsworth 149 7 125 21 
			 Westminster 108 12 57 23 
			 Grand total 5,187 497 2,815 1,017 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2002-03 
			  Borough  Chinese/Japanese  Arabian/Egyptian  Unrecorded  Annual total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 6 0 335 
			 Barnet 1 4 0 209 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 267 
			 Brent 2 7 2 338 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 321 
			 Camden 4 18 0 277 
			 Croydon 0 1 1 324 
			 Ealing 10 15 0 587 
			 Enfield 2 1 0 297 
			 Greenwich 1 2 0 414 
			 Hackney 8 3 0 495 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3 10 0 276 
			 Haringey 2 4 0 334 
			 Harrow 0 11 0 406 
			 Havering 0 1 0 309 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 1 
			 Hillingdon 2 1 0 238 
			 Hounslow 0 2 1 346 
			 Islington 1 4 3 243 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 13 0 212 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3 8 0 142 
			 Lambeth 3 4 0 389 
			 Lewisham 5 1 0 366 
			 Merton 1 1 0 134 
			 Newham 5 2 0 446 
			 Redbridge 1 2 0 230 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 5 0 151 
			 Southwark 1 4 1 447 
			 Sutton 2 1 0 183 
			 Tower Hamlets 2 0 0 299 
			 Waltham Forest 0 0 1 200 
			 Wandsworth 0 3 1 306 
			 Westminster 1 23 1 225 
			 Grand total 63 157 11 9,747 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2003-04 
			  Borough  White European  Dark European  African/Caribbean  Indian/Pakistani 
			 Barking and Dagenham 266 7 50 19 
			 Barnet 123 10 31 12 
			 Bexley 218 6 27 8 
			 Brent 73 12 117 45 
			 Bromley 297 12 46 8 
			 Camden 188 17 71 32 
			 Croydon 202 11 124 34 
			 Ealing 153 13 118 113 
			 Enfield 123 49 93 28 
			 Greenwich 263 14 92 15 
			 Hackney 126 43 138 19 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 130 13 103 10 
			 Haringey 89 41 133 14 
			 Harrow 168 13 71 59 
			 Havering 164 2 13 2 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 126 4 31 36 
			 Hounslow 180 9 26 64 
			 Islington 189 18 65 4 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 71 12 46 5 
			 Kingston upon Thames 97 3 13 5 
			 Lambeth 166 33 243 10 
			 Lewisham 192 23 210 8 
			 Merton 202 6 61 27 
			 Newham 120 8 124 47 
			 Redbridge 96 6 55 63 
			 Richmond upon Thames 122 4 13 12 
			 Southwark 146 26 141 1 
			 Sutton 149 1 11 9 
			 Tower Hamlets 145 5 59 85 
			 Waltham Forest 111 18 89 36 
			 Wandsworth 78 14 76 8 
			 Westminster 129 24 66 28 
			 Grand total 4,902 477 2,556 866 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2003-04 
			  Borough  Chinese/Japanese  Arabian/Egyptian  Unrecorded  Annual total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 0 0 342 
			 Barnet 1 7 0 184 
			 Bexley 1 0 0 260 
			 Brent 0 7 0 254 
			 Bromley 1 2 2 368 
			 Camden 6 7 2 323 
			 Croydon 4 2 0 377 
			 Ealing 2 11 1 411 
			 Enfield 1 3 2 299 
			 Greenwich 2 1 3 390 
			 Hackney 4 2 1 333 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3 13 0 272 
			 Haringey 2 2 3 284 
			 Harrow 2 1 0 314 
			 Havering 0 0 1 182 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 0 2 2 201 
			 Hounslow 0 5 1 285 
			 Islington 9 3 0 288 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6 13 0 153 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2 1 1 122 
			 Lambeth 1 2 0 455 
			 Lewisham 5 1 0 439 
			 Merton 2 1 1 300 
			 Newham 3 2 2 306 
			 Redbridge 1 0 0 221 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 1 0 152 
			 Southwark 2 6 1 323 
			 Sutton 1 1 0 172 
			 Tower Hamlets 1 2 0 297 
			 Waltham Forest 4 2 1 261 
			 Wandsworth 0 2 2 180 
			 Westminster 6 43 1 297 
			 Grand total 72 145 27 9,045 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2004-05 
			  Borough  White European  Dark European  African/Caribbean  Indian/Pakistani 
			 Barking and Dagenham 198 11 73 15 
			 Barnet 170 18 50 29 
			 Bexley 233 5 16 6 
			 Brent 147 24 169 83 
			 Bromley 270 9 64 4 
			 Camden 264 27 111 41 
			 Croydon 225 25 182 36 
			 Ealing 204 15 130 146 
			 Enfield 161 59 84 31 
			 Greenwich 273 17 85 7 
			 Hackney 156 55 170 28 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 82 8 62 8 
			 Haringey 115 56 173 19 
			 Harrow 150 11 66 87 
			 Havering 205 8 25 2 
			 Heathrow 1 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 187 4 26 40 
			 Hounslow 187 12 56 74 
			 Islington 178 32 81 15 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 56 5 27 5 
			 Kingston upon Thames 129 5 13 12 
			 Lambeth 115 28 252 14 
			 Lewisham 216 35 208 15 
			 Merton 103 5 58 18 
			 Newham 124 5 147 62 
			 Redbridge 94 10 43 62 
			 Richmond upon Thames 108 2 10 9 
			 Southwark 160 17 142 9 
			 Sutton 177 2 12 5 
			 Tower Hamlets 193 27 70 137 
			 Waltham Forest 147 21 114 53 
			 Wandsworth 98 12 60 21 
			 Westminster 133 33 63 24 
			 Grand total 5,259 603 2,842 1,117 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2004-05 
			  Borough  Chinese/Japanese  Arabian/Egyptian  Unrecorded  Annual total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 2 4 303 
			 Barnet 1 6 1 275 
			 Bexley 0 1 2 263 
			 Brent 3 5 0 431 
			 Bromley 0 1 1 349 
			 Camden 10 6 4 463 
			 Croydon 1 4 2 475 
			 Ealing 4 17 1 517 
			 Enfield 0 1 1 337 
			 Greenwich 9 4 2 397 
			 Hackney 2 1 4 416 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2 7 0 169 
			 Haringey 3 4 1 371 
			 Harrow 1 4 1 320 
			 Havering 1 0 7 248 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 1 
			 Hillingdon 1 2 1 261 
			 Hounslow 1 6 1 337 
			 Islington 0 4 2 312 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2 15 0 110 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2 1 0 162 
			 Lambeth 5 8 3 425 
			 Lewisham 2 3 0 479 
			 Merton 1 3 0 188 
			 Newham 3 4 1 346 
			 Redbridge 1 2 1 213 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1 2 1 133 
			 Southwark 4 0 5 337 
			 Sutton 2 0 0 198 
			 Tower Hamlets 5 1 4 437 
			 Waltham Forest 3 1 0 339 
			 Wandsworth 1 2 2 196 
			 Westminster 4 25 0 282 
			 Grand total 75 142 52 10,090 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2005-06 
			  Borough  White European  Dark European  African/Caribbean  Indian/Pakistani 
			 Barking and Dagenham 252 9 72 23 
			 Barnet 212 20 68 33 
			 Bexley 226 7 42 11 
			 Brent 69 16 113 50 
			 Bromley 224 8 40 9 
			 Camden 294 34 139 53 
			 Croydon 214 13 162 34 
			 Ealing 167 9 116 108 
			 Enfield 156 81 115 27 
			 Greenwich 295 17 135 30 
			 Hackney 167 59 203 38 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 82 4 71 5 
			 Haringey 137 77 129 31 
			 Harrow 139 12 49 70 
			 Havering 399 7 32 6 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 232 11 57 55 
			 Hounslow 206 11 56 89 
			 Islington 188 42 119 20 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 112 12 54 7 
			 Kingston upon Thames 121 11 17 7 
			 Lambeth 129 43 253 19 
			 Lewisham 311 22 350 20 
			 Merton 174 7 60 27 
			 Newham 172 5 138 112 
			 Redbridge 101 5 67 84 
			 Richmond upon Thames 138 8 16 8 
			 Southwark 237 33 219 22 
			 Sutton 184 6 34 6 
			 Tower Hamlets 250 19 91 202 
			 Waltham Forest 201 31 206 52 
			 Wandsworth 175 23 100 29 
			 Westminster 129 18 57 27 
			 Grand total 6,093 680 3,380 1,314 
		
	
	
		
			  Ethnicity 
			   2005-06 
			  Borough  Chinese/Japanese  Arabian/Egyptian  Unrecorded  Annual total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 5 1 363 
			 Barnet 7 5 0 345 
			 Bexley 1 0 2 289 
			 Brent 4 7 0 259 
			 Bromley 2 4 1 288 
			 Camden 10 9 0 539 
			 Croydon 3 1 0 427 
			 Ealing 5 9 0 414 
			 Enfield 2 1 1 383 
			 Greenwich 9 1 1 488 
			 Hackney 3 3 2 475 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2 4 0 168 
			 Haringey 6 0 0 380 
			 Harrow 2 3 0 275 
			 Havering 0 1 3 448 
			 Heathrow 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 2 1 2 360 
			 Hounslow 4 8 0 374 
			 Islington 8 4 2 383 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 7 19 2 213 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2 1 2 161 
			 Lambeth 2 4 0 450 
			 Lewisham 4 1 3 711 
			 Merton 3 0 1 272 
			 Newham 2 1 1 431 
			 Redbridge 3 2 1 263 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 1 0 171 
			 Southwark 2 3 1 517 
			 Sutton 3 2 0 235 
			 Tower Hamlets 6 1 2 571 
			 Waltham Forest 2 1 1 494 
			 Wandsworth 6 3 0 336 
			 Westminster 5 27 0 263 
			 Grand total 118 132 29 11,746

Domestic Violence

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) arrests and  (b) convictions there have been for domestic violence in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The number of arrests for domestic violence in each London borough is only available from 2001-02. The total number of domestic violence arrests for each London borough are contained in the following table. The data demonstrate a steady increase in domestic violence-related arrests by the MPS. This is in line with the Home Office's objectives of increasing the reporting of domestic violence and police proactivity in responding to domestic violence. The CPS does not hold a historical record of domestic violence data for each London borough. The following data are for the number of domestic violence convictions as a proportion of domestic violence prosecutions in the jurisdiction of the London courts. 2005-062,503 convictions (51.7 per cent. of prosecutions). 2004-051,365 convictions (48.6 per cent. of prosecutions). Comparable figures are not held for years prior to 2004-05.
	
		
			  Persons accused of domestic violence broken down by borough and age range 
			  Financial year  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 156 335 342 303 363 
			 Barnet 211 209 184 275 345 
			 Bexley 194 267 260 263 289 
			 Brent 285 338 254 431 259 
			 Bromley 150 321 368 349 288 
			 Camden 169 277 323 463 539 
			 Croydon 352 324 377 475 427 
			 Ealing 406 587 411 517 414 
			 Enfield 247 297 299 337 383 
			 Greenwich 359 414 390 397 488 
			 Hackney 546 495 333 416 475 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 296 276 272 169 168 
			 Haringey 287 334 284 371 380 
			 Harrow 310 406 314 320 275 
			 Havering 183 309 182 248 448 
			 Heathrow 2 1 0 1 0 
			 Hillingdon 242 238 201 261 360 
			 Hounslow 310 346 285 337 374 
			 Islington 373 243 288 312 383 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 112 212 153 110 213 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 125 142 122 162 161 
			 Lambeth 280 389 455 425 450 
			 Lewisham 429 366 439 479 711 
			 Merton 142 134 300 188 272 
			 Newham 280 446 306 346 431 
			 Redbridge 182 230 221 213 263 
			 Richmond Upon Thames 136 151 152 133 171 
			 Southwark 447 447 323 337 517 
			 Sutton 111 183 172 198 235 
			 Tower Hamlets 183 299 297 437 571 
			 Waltham Forest 227 200 261 339 494 
			 Wandsworth 215 306 180 196 336 
			 Westminster 220 225 297 282 263 
			 Grand total 8,167 9,747 9,045 10,090 11,746

Domestic Violence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2005,  Official Report, column 438W, on domestic violence, if he will publish the  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005 results on victimisation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The British Crime Survey (BCS) measures victimisation against adults living in private households in England and Wales. Domestic violence is included as part of the survey's core measure of violent crime. The results from the 2004-05 and 2005-06 BCS surveys have been published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletins 11/05 Crime in England and Wales 2004-05 and 12/06 Crime in England and Wales 2005-06. The BCS also includes a self-completion module of questions on interpersonal violence; this covers domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The module was included in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 surveys. The results from the 2004-05 survey were published in May 2006, in Home Office Online Report 12/06. It is currently planned that the results from the 2005-06 survey will be published early 2007.The results from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, which includes general data on the nature of personal victimisation of young people aged 10 to 25, were published on the 24 November 2005, in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 20/05 Young people and crime: findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, Appendix D. It is currently planned that the results from the 2005 survey will be published late 2006.

Domestic Violence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2005,  Official Report, columns 1252-53W, on domestic violence, what findings were made by the most recent frequency surveys conducted to gauge the level of interpersonal violence experienced by  (a) children and  (b) adults over 60 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The British Crime Survey (BCS) measures victimisation against adults living in private households in England and Wales. Domestic violence is included as part of the survey's core measure of violent crime. The results from the 2005-06 BCS were published on 20 July 2006 in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/06 Crime in England and Wales 2005-06. The risks of victimisation by age and sex for all violence and domestic violence based on the 2005-06 BCS are included in the following table. The BCS also includes a self-completion module of questions on interpersonal violence; this covers domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The module was included in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 surveys. The results from the 2004-05 survey were published in May 2006, in Home Office Online Report 12/06. However, the results only cover those aged from 16 to 59 for methodological reasons. The results from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, which includes general data on victimisation of young people aged 10 to 25, were published on 24 November 2005, in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 20/05 Young people and crime: findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, Appendix D. It is currently planned that the results from the 2005 survey will be published late 2006.
	
		
			  Victims (once or more) 2005-06 BCS 
			  Percentage 
			   All violence  Domestic 
			 Men 4.3 0.2 
			 16-24 12.6 0.3 
			 25-34 5.5 0.2 
			 35-44 3.9 0.3 
			 45-54 3.1 0.3 
			 55-64 1.1 0.0 
			 65-74 0.5 0.0 
			 75+ 0.3 0.0 
			
			 Women 2.5 0.6 
			 16-24 7.0 1.4 
			 25-34 2.8 0.6 
			 35-44 3.0 1.1 
			 45-54 2.2 0.6 
			 55-64 1.0 0.2 
			 65-74 0.5 0.0 
			 75+ 0.4 0.0

Drivers (Drugs)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of field impairment tests in identifying drivers with illegal drugs in their bodies.

Tony McNulty: The drug driving offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 is that of driving whilst unfit through a drug. Field impairment tests are intended to help an assessment of whether a driver is impaired and whether that impairment might be due to alcohol or a drug. Whether the drug is a controlled substance or obtained legally on prescription or over the counter is not relevant to the offence. There is no offence if the driver has a drug in his body but his driving ability is not impaired. We understand from the police that the tests are useful in making such an assessment. If impairment is suggested and it appears a drug may be responsible, the driver can be required to provide a specimen of blood or urine for laboratory analysis.

Drivers (Drugs)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the use and effectiveness of roadside drugalysers.

Tony McNulty: Under s 6C (1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as amended, a device used to test a driver for the presence of a drug in his body has to be of a type approved by the Secretary of State. There are at present no devices which have received type approval. International research has suggested that such drug screening devices as are currently available commercially are not suitable for type approval for the purposes of the Act.

Drug Intervention Programme

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of the pilots in five areas of the Drug Interventions Programme.

Vernon Coaker: The hon. Member originally raised this question on 7 November 2005. Given that there were no pilots in any five areas of the Drug Interventions Programme it was agreed that the question would be withdrawn and re-tabled. The re-tabled question was answered on 6 February 2006 and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 February 2006,  Official Report, column 937W.
	I am now pleased to give the hon. Member the latest position on numbers into treatment. Since the introduction of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) in April 2003, over 48,000 drug misusing offenders have entered treatment through DIP (May 2006). We are on track to achieve the overall target of 1,000 offenders a week into treatment by 2008 and we exceeded the interim (March 2005) target by 54 per cent.

Drug Strategies

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has made for the review of the  (a) UK and  (b) UN drug strategies in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Government's Drug Strategy is delivering tangible improvements in communities across the country. The Drug Harm Index, which measures a range of harms caused by drug misuse, shows a 24 per cent. reduction since the introduction of the updated Drug Strategy in 2002.
	In advance of 2008, a full review will be undertaken to inform the next stage of the Strategy. Departments delivering the Drug Strategy are currently participating in the comprehensive and in-depth value for money programme led by HMT as part of the preparations for the Comprehensive Review 2007, due to report next year.
	With its European Union partners, the Government are seeking to ensure that the 10-year plan of action, established by the 1988 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs, is evaluated rigorously and realistically, through the best available scientific and statistical evidence; and that the results of the evaluation will lay firm foundations for realistic future UN strategies against illicit drugs.
	Decisions made on the future direction and form of the post-2008 strategies will be communicated to all partners and stakeholders at the earliest opportunity.

Drug Use

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the findings and evidence contained in the study into the prevalence of drug use across the 149 drug action team areas commissioned by his Department from the Centre for Research into Drug Misuse at Glasgow University in partnership with the University of Manchester.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 July 2006
	A publication date for this report has not been finalised yet. We intend to publish this in one collated volume with a number of other related drugs research studies.

Drugs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of possession with intent to supply  (a) cannabis,  (b) ecstasy,  (c) cocaine,  (d) crack cocaine and  (e) heroin in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Available data relate to court proceedings within London's City and Metropolitan police areas between 2000 and 2004. Information cannot be broken down to London borough level.
	
		
			  Table A: Persons found guilty for possession with intent to supply( 1)  drug offences( 2) , City of London police force area,2000 to 2004 
			  Drug type 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
			 Cannabis(3) 0 1 3 3 0 
			 Ecstasy 1 2 4 6 1 
			 Cocaine 0 1 1 7 4 
			 Crack 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Heroin 0 1 3 0 0 
			 (1) Excludes operations dealt with by HM Revenue and Customs.  (2) As an offence can involve more than one drug type, columns cannot be added together to produce sub-totals or totals.  (3) On 29 January 2004 cannabis was re-classified from being a class B to a class C drug. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Persons found guilty for possession with intent to supply drug offences( 1) , Metropolitan police area, 2000 to 2004 
			  Drug type  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Cannabis 3 333 350 352 362 295 
			 Ecstasy 127 119 105 116 81 
			 Cocaine 133 208 218 221 246 
			 Crack 68 82 89 118 107 
			 Heroin 130 170 154 215 179 
			 (1) Excludes operations dealt with by HM Revenue and Customs.

Drugs

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) x-ray and  (b) ultrasound scanners are in use by the police for dealing with those suspected of possessing class A drugs.

John Reid: Section 5 of the Drugs Act 2005 gave police forces in England and Wales the power to require a person believed to have swallowed a class A drug to undergo an x-ray or ultrasound scan in certain circumstances. The provision was commenced on 1 January 2006. Such a procedure may only be carried out by a suitably qualified person, and only at a hospital, a registered medical practitioner's surgery, or some other place used for medical purposes. It follows that no scanners are used solely by the police or solely for this purpose.

Drunk and Disorderly Offences

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) adult and  (b) under-age offenders were found guilty of (i) drunken and disorderly behaviour and (ii) drunken and aggravated behaviour providing figures in (A) rural and (B) non-rural areas in (1) absolute terms and (2) per 1,000 population in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: From data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, it is not possible to identify convictions in rural and non-rural areas separately as this information is not collected.

Early Release

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been released under the early release scheme in each year since its introduction; and what assessment he has made of the scheme's effect on demand for prison places.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, those sentenced to determinate sentences of four years or more are eligible for parole halfway through their sentence. If parole is not granted then release occurs at the two-thirds point of the sentence (or at a subsequent parole review if earlier). Numbers of prisoners recommended for parole are shown at table 10.4 of the offender management caseload statistics 2004, a copy of which can be found in the Library.
	Prisoners sentenced to determinate terms of under four years under the 1991 Act are generally released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence.
	The Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC) has been in operation since January 1999. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria and passing a careful risk assessment, prisoners serving sentences of between three months and less than four years may be released up to four and a half months (135 days) early from prison subject to an electronically monitored curfew normally between 7pm and 7am. Although not its primary purpose, HDC plays an important role in managing the prison population by reducing overcrowding at the same time as improving resettlement opportunities for less serious offenders. Information on the numbers of prisoners released under Home Detention Curfew (HDC), can be found in tables 10.3 in the offender management caseload statistics 2004.
	The figures provided in the tables referred to have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.
	The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced new arrangements for prison sentences. They apply only to offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. A new indeterminate public protection sentence was introduced. Those offenders judged to be dangerous, and who have committed serious sexual or violent offences, can be kept in prison until the Parole Board judges it is safe to release them. If they have committed less serious offences they may serve a determinate sentence followed by an extended period on licence after release of up to eight years for sexual offences and five years for violent offences. Other determinate sentence prisoners will be released automatically at the half-way point of their sentence.
	At any one time about 2,700 peoplewho would otherwise be filling prison placesare serving the last part of their sentence on HDC. The other early release arrangements described above inform projections of the prison population. Projections to 2011 have been produced for a range of scenarios and are published in Home Office statistical bulletin 10/05, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. Further projections will be published shortly.

Early Release

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring procedures are in place for prisoners released before their sentence expiry date.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisoners sentenced to a determinate sentence of 12 months or over who fall to be released under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 are subject to probation supervision from the point at which they are released until their licence expiry date (which will extend up until the three-quarter point of their sentence). Prisoners recalled during that period are re-released at the discretion of the Parole Board and are normally subject to further probation supervision until the expiry of their sentence. Prisoners sentenced to a determinate sentence of 12 months or over under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are subject to probation supervision from the point of release until the expiry of the sentence. Prisoners sentenced to an extended sentence are subject to probation supervision for the normal licence period as well as the extension period of the sentence. All prisoners subject to probation supervision are required to report to their supervising officer and may be required to live where directed and to comply with a range of other licence conditions which assist the Probation Service to monitor their behaviour in the community. Failure to comply can result in the offender's licence being revoked and the offender's being returned to custody. Determinate sentence prisoners serving a sentence of three months or over but less than four years may be released up to 135 days before their automatic release date on the home detention curfew scheme. These prisoners are subject to an electronically monitored curfew and liable to recall if they breach the terms of the curfew. Young offenders (those aged under 22 years upon their release) who are serving a sentence of less than 12 months and who fall to be released under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 receive a period of statutory supervision upon their release, which runs for three months (or until the offender reaches 22 years of age).

ECAA Switching Cases

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for the right of establishment in business under EU association agreements in ECAA switching cases were submitted using standard-form business plans identical or materially similar to those submitted by other such applicants.

Liam Byrne: Information in the form requested is not available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

ECAA Switching Cases

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) he and  (b) his Department are aware of any applications for the right of establishment in business under EU association agreements in ECAA switching cases having been granted in error between 1 June 2003 and 30 April 2004.

Liam Byrne: The report by Ken Sutton published on 17 June 2004, found that there was clear evidence that the ECAA category had been exploited and that applications were granted to some individuals who were unlikely to have been able to demonstrate that they could sustain themselves in business.

ECAA Switching Cases

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for the right of establishment in business under EU association agreements in ECAA switching cases were refused between 1 June 2003 and 30 April 2004, broken down by  (a) reason for refusal and  (b) nationality of the applicant.

Liam Byrne: Between 1 June 2003 and 30 April 2004 1,006 applications for the right of establishment in business under EU association agreements in ECAA switching cases were refused. A breakdown of the nationalities of the refused applicants is given in the following table. There is no facility on the Management Information System to produce a breakdown of reasons for refusal.
	
		
			  Country of origin  Number 
			 Bulgaria 36 
			 Czech Republic 4 
			 Estonia 7 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1 
			 Hungary 1 
			 Latvia 72 
			 Lithuania 184 
			 Moldova 1 
			 Poland 617 
			 Romania 58 
			 Russia 2 
			 Slovakia 5 
			 Turkey 13 
			 Ukraine 5 
			 Grand total 1,006 
			  Notes: This information has not been quality assured, and is not a National Statistic. It should be treated as provisional management information and may be subject to change.

Effective Trial Management Programme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effective trial management programme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The primary aim of the effective trial management programme is to reduce the number of ineffective trials by improving case preparation and progression from point of charge through to trial or earlier conclusion. By increasing the certainty of trial or hearing dates, the programme aims to bring more offences to justice and improve public confidence in the criminal justice system, particularly that of victims and witnesses. Effective trial management formed part of the wider criminal case management programme aimed at improving the end-to-end process, and which included the setting up of 165 Witness Support Units under the No Witness No Justice project, and the roll-out of the new charging scheme.
	Implementation of the effective trial management programme, together with the other two elements of the wider criminal case management programme, has been completed in all criminal justice areas across England and Wales. The indications are that reductions in headline ineffective trial rates have been achieved. Stakeholder confidence and satisfaction in the changes remains high, with effective trial management being a priority at local and national level.

Emergency Planning Exercises

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what emergency planning exercises  (a) his Department and  (b) public bodies for which he is responsible have carried out in the last six months.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office leads the National Counter Terrorism Exercise Programme which is designed to test the preparedness of the police to respond to major terrorist incidents and to drive improvements to counter terrorist contingency planning within Government Departments. As part of this the Home Office runs three national exercises each year as well as up to 12 table-top exercises.
	Two full scale national counter terrorism exercises and nine table-top exercises were held between September 2005 and August 2006.
	Individual police forces also run their own counter terrorism and other civil contingencies exercises at local level. Details of these exercises are not held centrally.
	In addition, the Home Office also carries out business continuity planning, disaster management and other contingency planning in order to ensure that its business can continue in the event of an incident that might otherwise affect its ability to function normally. Home Office Headquarters has not exercised these plans between September 2005 and August 2006. Details of emergency planning exercises held in individual immigration offices, immigration detention centres, immigration ports, prisons and other offices falling within the Home Office's remit, are not held centrally.

Employment Discrimination (Criminal Records Checks)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the result has been of his Department's consideration of the merits of establishing an independent licensing authority to tackle employment discrimination related to criminal records checks.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The setting up of a central register of ex-offenders was a key recommendation of Sir Michael Bichard's report into those working with children and vulnerable adults. This particular area of policy is led by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
	After considering all the options very carefully, including a licensing route, DfES introduced the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill in February 2006. This seeks to enact agreed proposals to establish a new central Vetting and Barring Scheme to ensure all those seeking jobs that give significant access to children or vulnerable adults are properly vetted. This approach has been consulted upon and endorsed by Sir Michael Bichard.

Engagements

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be in a position to indicate to the hon. Member for North Thanet what discussions he held with representatives of The News of the World during the four weeks preceding 26 June 2006 in answer to question 79809.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The Home Secretary replied to the hon. Member on 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1333W.

Entry Points

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the points of entry are into the United Kingdom.

John Reid: There are many potential entry points to the UK including small air and sea ports, marinas and airfields. There are 35 air, sea and rail points of entry in the UK and in juxtaposed locations, which, by virtue of the nature and frequency of traffic and the numbers of passengers requiring leave to enter the port, have immigration official presence 24 hours a day or during operating hours. Other small points of entry are attended to cover scheduled services, or on a risk assessed basis, or in response to specific intelligence. The names of these points of entry cannot be disclosed as this could provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent immigration controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of immigration offences.

European Arrest Warrants

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the letter dated 22 January 2006 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department to the Chairman of Sub-Committee E of the House of Lords European Union Committee, what the title was of each case in 2005 where European arrest warrants were discharged by the UK courts for passage of time considerations; which court discharged each case; and what the length of time which had passed was in each case.

Joan Ryan: There were four cases discharged due to the passage of time in the UK in 2005. Three of these were dealt with by Bow Street magistrates court, which deals with all extradition requests in England and Wales, and one by the Edinburgh sheriffs court. Additionally, one case was discharged in 2005 but the case was not formally confirmed until 2006, when an appeal against the decision was withdrawn and one was discharged for two reasons, the secondary reason being passage of time. Both these cases were also dealt with by Bow Street magistrates court. The cases were: Teresa Restas, where the alleged offences took place in 1985 and the European arrest warrant (EAW) was issued in 2005. Rafal Darek, where the alleged offences took place in 1995 and the EAW was issued in 2004. Ronaldas Pakstas, where the alleged offences took place in 1998 and the EAW was issued in 2004 Richard Rockiki (Scottish case) where the alleged offences took place in 1986 and the EAW was issued in 2004. The case where the appeal was withdrawn in 2006 was Peter Lewis, where the alleged offences took place in 1996 and the EAW was issued in 2004. The case discharged principally for another reason was Ravnik Bojan, where the alleged offences took place in 1992 and the EAW was issued in 2005.

Extradition

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many US citizens have been extradited from the UK since 1997; and how many UK citizens have been extradited from the US since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Neither the UK or US keep a permanent central record of the nationalities of those extradited between the two countries, because both countries have always been prepared to consider the extradition of its own citizens.
	Statistical information is only available since 1998.
	The figures do not include Scotland and Northern Ireland who have devolved powers to make or grant requests.
	
		
			  Total extradited (of all nationalities) to the US from England and Wales 
			   Number 
			 1998 7 
			 1999 7 
			 2000 9 
			 2001 8 
			 2002 12 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 8 
			 2005 13 
			 2006 (to 21 July) 11 
			  Note: The 2006 figure includes one person who is counted once but was returned to the US on two requests (both under the 1989 Act and 2003 Act for separate offences in two different States). 
		
	
	
		
			  Total extradited (of all nationalities) from the US to England and Wales: 
			   Number 
			 1998 5 
			 1999 2 
			 2000 2 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 (to 21 July) 1

Extradition

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for extradition  (a) were received in 2005 and  (b) have been received in 2006 from each of the countries that were the subject of the Part two Territories Designation Order 2003.

Joan Ryan: The figures for those countries which were designated under the Extradition Act 2003 (Designation of Part two Territories) Order 2003, and which made requests under the Extradition Act 2003 during the periods in question, are given in the table. The figures do not include requests made to Ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland, who have devolved powers to make or grant requests.
	
		
			  Part two Territories  (a) 2005  (b) 2006 (to 18 July 2006) 
			 Albania 2 4 
			 Armenia  1 
			 Australia 3 4 
			 Azerbaijan 1  
			 Canada 3 1 
			 Croatia 2 2 
			 Czech Republic(1) 1  
			 Georgia 1  
			 Germany(1) 1  
			 Hong Kong SAR  1 
			 India 4  
			 Israel 2  
			 Italy(1) 3  
			 Mauritius 1  
			 Norway 1  
			 Romania 14 2 
			 Russian Federation 5 4 
			 Switzerland  2 
			 Trinidad and Tobago  2 
			 Turkey 1 2 
			 USA 8 9 
			 (1) Upon joining the European Arrest Warrant mechanism, these countries were re-designated as Part one Territories on the following dates: Czech Republic and Germany: 1 March 2005; France: 27 July 2004; Italy: 28 July 2005.

Extremism/Islamaphobia

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in setting up a national forum against  (a) extremism and  (b) Islamophobia as proposed in response to the 7 July bombings.

Meg Munn: holding answer 19 May 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	Six regional forums are to be created, led by key individuals and bringing together members of local Muslim communities, law enforcement and public service agencies to discuss how to tackle extremism and Islamophobia in their area. The forums will provide a safe space for sharing views and developing new thinking and action plans for dealing with extremism. The first three forums have taken place in Leicester (18 June), Redbridge (24 June), and Dudley (3 July). A further three are planned before November.
	A national forum against extremism has been formed by 12 Muslim organisations; they plan to hold a conference in the autumn.

False Passports/Identity Documents

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested in England and Wales for possession of  (a) a false passport and  (b) other false identity documents in each of the last five years.

Joan Ryan: Information on arrests collected centrally in England and Wales is based on persons arrested for notifiable offences by main offence group only and does not identify individual offences.

Firearms

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of illegal firearms in circulation; what steps he is taking to reduce the number; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: There are no reliable estimates of the number of prohibited firearms in circulation.
	We are taking action in a variety of ways to take illegal firearms off the streets:
	we have introduced a five-year minimum sentence for possession of a prohibited firearm and are tightening legislation in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill with a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon;
	we support dedicated and intelligence-led police enforcement operations focusing on gun crime, including the seizure of firearms, such as Operation Trident;
	HM Revenue and Customs conduct operations to detect and seize illegal weapons. We also support community work aimed at helping young people who may be at risk of involvement in gun crime through the Connected Fund.

Foreign Criminals

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many foreign mentally-disordered individuals held in special hospitals under mental health legislation were released without notification to the immigration and nationality directorate in  (a) the last six months,  (b) the last 12 months and  (c) the last five years;
	(2)  how many foreign mentally-disordered individuals held in special hospitals under mental health legislation have been released without being considered for deportation in  (a) the last six months,  (b) the last 12 months and  (c) the last five years.

John Reid: The information requested is not currently held centrally.

Foreign Criminals

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national offenders have been served with deportation orders in each year since 1999.

John Reid: Up until 2002, published information is available on the total number of persons against whom enforcement action was initiated, including deportation action, in the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom Command Paper. Published editions of this Command Paper and other information on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	Information on deportation action was not available for 2003 due to data quality issues in this area. Information for 2004 has been published (as at the listed website) provisionally and may be revised in the 2005 Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom Command Paper publication.
	The immigration and nationality directorate is currently putting in place new processes to improve its data collection systems for the future in this area.

Foreign Criminals

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether private finance initiative schemes have been used for handling the deportation of foreign national criminals since 1997.

Liam Byrne: I can advise the hon. Member that no private finance initiative schemes have been used for handling the deportation of foreign national criminals since 1997.

Foreign Criminals

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost has been of  (a) back-processing and  (b) locating of foreign national prisoners released without processing for deportation; how many personnel have been deployed on these tasks; and from which other sections they have been reassigned.

Liam Byrne: The total cost of the operation to track and detain foreign criminals is not currently available because work on the 1,013 cases released without consideration of deportation is still ongoing.
	The immigration and nationality directorate's criminal casework directorate is overseeing work, staffed with over 400 full-time equivalent staff of which some are on loan on a short and long-term basis from other areas of the immigration and nationality directorate as recruitment takes place. These staff have come from a range of operational areas. Risks to business delivery associated with loaning staff to the criminal casework directorate are being closely managed.
	IND is also working closely with a number of other Government Departments in locating and dealing with these individuals, in particular the police who have jointly led the intelligence gathering operation to locate these individuals.

Foreign Criminals

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 641-2W, on foreign criminals, where in the written statement of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 18-19WS, on deportation and removal of foreign nationals, or in the letter from the director-general of the immigration and nationality department to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee the information sought in Question numbers 67390 and 67391 is to be found.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 July 2006
	The immigration and nationality directorate (IND) director general's letter of 29 June provided a comprehensive breakdown at that time on the 1,013 foreign national prisoners released without deportation consideration. The information was collated centrally and quality assured by the Department and is the most accurate and robust data currently available to the Department on these individuals.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will be writing shortly to the hon. Member to address the particular point she raised with him on 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 3W, regarding sex offenders in oral questions to the Home Department.

Foreign Criminals

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases when a deportation notice has been served the Home Secretary has exercised his powers to grant bail pending termination of the appeal in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collate information in the format requested and it could be produced in the format requested only at disproportionate cost.

Foreign Criminals

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 641-42W, on foreign criminals, what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that a ministerial answer to a parliamentary question addresses the terms of the question asked.

Liam Byrne: The hon. Member is entitled to ask a pursuant question for further clarification or detail. I am already aware that the hon. Member has tabled a pursuant question regarding the answers given on 29 June 2006 to her questions.

Foreign Criminals

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of activities associated with the tracking and detention of the 1,023 foreign criminals released without consideration for deportation.

Liam Byrne: The total cost of the operation to track and detain foreign criminals is not currently available because work on the 1,013 cases released without consideration of deportation is still ongoing.

Foreign Criminals

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the nationality of prisoners is routinely recorded on their files; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Yes. This information is routinely recorded on both the computerised Local Inmate Database and on the prisoner's core paper file. Where it cannot be recorded on the day of reception, it will normally be added shortly after as part of the reception process. In a written ministerial statement of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 29WS my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Byrne) set out the progress the Department is making to address the fact that there is currently no requirement in law for the detainee to provide details of their identity or nationality.

Foreign Criminals

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, 
	(1)  how many foreign nationals there are in prison in England and Wales with each type of immigration status; and what percentage of the total number of foreign nationals in prison this represents in each case;
	(2)  how many foreign nationals there were in prisons in England and Wales in each year since 1996;
	(3)  how many foreign nationals are in prisons in England and Wales, broken down by sex.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 2 May 2006
	Available information for the years 1996 to 2005 on the number of foreign nationals held in prison establishments in England and Wales, broken down by sex, is given in table 8.4 and 8.4a of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, which can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html

Foreign Criminals

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people granted asylum in the UK in the last 10 years committed criminal offences which attracted  (a) custodial and  (b) non-custodial sentences in each year since 1997, broken down by country of origin;
	(2)  how many people given indefinite leave to remain in the UK within the last 10 years committed criminal offences which attracted  (a) custodial and  (b) non-custodial sentences in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many illegal immigrants have been convicted of criminal offences which attracted  (a) custodial and  (b) non-custodial sentences in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available centrally as details relating to the immigration status of persons sentenced does not form part of the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. Neither does the immigration and nationality directorate hold information centrally on offences committed by or convictions and sentences imposed on persons falling within these categories.

Foreign Criminals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners were imprisoned in each year between 1999 and 2005; and what the average time spent in prison was by these prisoners.

Liam Byrne: Information for the years 1999 to 2005 on the number of foreign nationals held in prison establishments in England and Wales is given in table 8.4 and 8.4a of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004. Information on the average time served in prison establishments of foreign nationals discharged from determinate sentences is given in the following table.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
	
		
			  Average time served in prison (including remand time) in months of foreign national prisoners discharged from prison from determinate sentences on completion of sentence or on licence 
			  Year of discharge  Number of prisoners 
			 1999 9.9 
			 2000 10.2 
			 2001 10.2 
			 2002 10.0 
			 2003 10.4 
			 2004 10.7 
			 2005 9.3

Foreign Criminals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has carried out on the rates of recidivism among foreign national prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office has not conducted any specific research into reoffending amongst foreign national prisoners. Reoffending rates for discharged prisoners are published annually. These include foreign national prisoners (unless marked as deported upon release from custody) but separate figures are not available for this group. The latest figures can be found in 'Adult reoffending: results from the 2002 cohort'. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 25/05'. This is available on the Home Office's website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html. The report shows the reoffending rate of offenders released from prison for 2002 and 2000.

Foreign Criminals

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-British citizens are serving prison sentences in England and Wales.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of foreign national prisoners serving an immediate custodial sentence in prison establishments in England and Wales is given in table 8.28 of the web tables of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, available at the following address: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html

Foreign Criminals

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost has been of the operation to  (a) trace,  (b) track,  (c) detain and  (d) conduct surveillance on foreign prisoners released without due deportation review process.

Liam Byrne: The total cost of the operation to track and detain foreign criminals is not currently available because work on the 1,013 cases released without consideration of deportation is still ongoing.

Foreign Criminals

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to question  (a) 67587, on foreign prisoners, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 26 April and  (b) 67931, on prisoners released on licence, tabled on 27 April.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Byrne) replied to  (a) on 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 645W. The hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Sutcliffe) replied to  (b) on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 414W.

Foreign Criminals

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those foreign nationals eligible for deportation following the end of their prison sentence who have remained in the country have been in receipt of state benefits in the period following their release; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 June 2006
	The information requested is not collected centrally and therefore would be available only at a disproportionate cost.

Foreign Criminals

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many former foreign prisoners are claiming asylum, broken down by country of origin.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally and would require an examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Fox Hunting

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers  (a) Scottish police forces operating close to the border have to enforce the fox hunting ban in England and  (b) English police forces operating close to the border have to enforce the fox hunting ban in Scotland.

Tony McNulty: Section 98 of the Police Act 1996 enables aid to be provided between police forces in the different jurisdictions within the United Kingdom. While providing mutual aid a constable is under the direction and control of the receiving force and has the powers and privileges of a constable in the receiving force.
	Where cross-border aid provisions are not in effect part 10 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 provides police constables from one jurisdiction with the following enforcement powers in other jurisdictions in the UK:
	Section 140 provides that where a constable in one jurisdiction has a power to arrest a person for an offence committed in their jurisdiction an officer from another jurisdiction who is present there has the same power of arrest in the jurisdiction where the offence was committed.
	Section 137 provides that where a person suspected of committing an offence in one jurisdiction is in another jurisdiction an officer from the jurisdiction where the offence was committed has the power to arrest the suspect in the other jurisdiction.
	The issue of mutual aid or the exercise of cross-border powers is an operational matter for the individual Chief Officers concerned.

Fox Hunting

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to English constabularies on supporting constabularies in Scotland in enforcing the fox hunting ban.

Tony McNulty: None. This is an operational matter for Chief Officers.

Gambling

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for gambling offences in each of the last five years.

John Reid: Data from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences related to gambling, in England and Wales 2000-04 are provided in the following table. Because of the large range of offences included, data have been provided at offence class level, divided between summary and indictable gambling offences. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences related to illegal gambling, England and Wales, 2000-04( 1,2) 
			   Betting, gaming and lotteries offences 
			   Indictable offences  Summary offences 
			 2000 19 13 
			 2001 13 37 
			 2002 10 35 
			 2003 12 10 
			 2004 14 5 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Note: Includes offences related to gaming regulations, amusements, unlicensed gambling and national lottery offences.

Gun Crime

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) shotguns,  (b) rifles and (c) handguns were stolen in (i) Southend-on-Sea, (ii) Essex, (iii) Hertfordshire, (iv) the Metropolitan Police area of London, (v) City of London Police area and (vi) England and Wales in each year since 1986; and how many were subsequently recovered and returned to the owner.

Tony McNulty: Information on firearms stolen, subsequently recovered and returned to the owner is not collected centrally. Data on stolen weapons for England and Wales are given from 1986 to 2004-05. Breakdowns of these weapons by police force area are not available centrally for years up to and including 1998-99; therefore force level data are given only from 1999-2000 to 2004-05. There was a 52 per cent. decrease in the reported number of shotguns misappropriated in England and Wales in 2004-05 (403) compared to 1986 (842), a 32 per cent. increase in the number of rifles (140 and 106 respectively) and a 55 per cent. decrease in the number of handguns (81 and 181 respectively). There was little fluctuation in the numbers of misappropriated shotguns, rifles and handguns recorded by police in Essex, Hertfordshire and City of London between 1999-2000 and 2004-05. Although the numbers recorded by the Metropolitan Police were also relatively small, there were large percentage decreases for misappropriations of each of these weapon types: 62 per cent. decrease in the number of shotguns (from 29 in 1999-2000 to 11 in 2004-05); 100 per cent. decrease in rifles (from 33 to 0 respectively); 97 per cent. decrease in handguns (from 61 to two respectively).
	
		
			  Firearms Misappropriated( 1)  in Crimes Recorded by the Police 
			  Essex Police Force 
			   Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 1999-2000 10 0 2 
			 2000-01 2 1 0 
			 2001-02 11 8 1 
			 2002-03 5 0 1 
			 2003-04 11 0 0 
			 2004-05 7 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Hertfordshire Police Force 
			   Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 1999-2000 10 0 2 
			 2000-01 5 3 2 
			 2001-02 2 1 0 
			 2002-03 5 1 1 
			 2003-04 5 0 2 
			 2004-05 7 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Metropolitan Police Force 
			   Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 1999-2000 29 33 61 
			 2000-01 39 20 30 
			 2001-02 14 15 13 
			 2002-03 13 2 12 
			 2003-04 10 11 8 
			 2004-05 11 0 2 
		
	
	
		
			  City of London 
			   Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 1999-2000 0 0 0 
			 2000-01 1 0 0 
			 2001-02 0 3 0 
			 2002-03 0 0 0 
			 2003-04 0 0 0 
			 2004-05 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  England and Wales( 2) 
			   Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 1986 842 106 181 
			 1987 768 104 116 
			 1988 614 78 123 
			 1989 509 79 142 
			 1990 495 116 193 
			 1991 600 141 206 
			 1992 590 139 282 
			 1993 622 209 347 
			 1994 554 130 270 
			 1995(3) 728 232 398 
			 1996 624 201 294 
			 1997 539 193 305 
			 1997-98 524 155 270 
			 1998-99 395 179 242 
			 1999-2000 447 200 219 
			 2000-01 431 172 167 
			 2001-02 423 139 79 
			 2002-03 462 129 85 
			 2003-04 397 130 96 
			 2004-05 403 140 81 
			 (1) Misappropriated is defined as stolen, obtained by fraud or forgery etc., or handled dishonestly. (2) For years up to 1994,more than one firearm may have been misappropriated in each offence. (3 )From 1995, the figures relate to the number of firearms misappropriated.

Hezbollah

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make it unlawful  (a) to fundraise and  (b) to provide support for the Hezbollah terrorist organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The military wing of Hezbollah, the External Security Organisation, was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK in February 2001. Under the proscription powers it is unlawful in the UK to be a member of Hezbollah's External Security Organisation, to fund it, recruit for it or support it in any way.

HMP Dartmoor

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on programmes addressing reoffending at HMP Dartmoor provided by  (a) the voluntary sector and  (b) the prison service in 2005-06.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service spent 1,210,000 on intervention programmes at Dartmoor in 2005-06. The amount spent by the voluntary sector is not known and is a matter for the voluntary sector.

HMP Dartmoor

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the Inner Change programme at HMP Dartmoor; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The programme was introduced as a pilot only. Following a review under Prison Service Order 4350 (Effective Regimes Interventions) the programme is currently being withdrawn. The Review Panel identified a range of concerns, the most significant being the poor quality of the manuals, which did not demonstrate a structured and coherent programme, a lack of consistency and clarity about the primary aims of the programme, a lack of understanding and appropriate sensitivity to the diversity agenda of HM Prison Service, and an absence of protocols for the management of the mentor system, making it unsafe.

Home Detention Curfews

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for the decline in the use of home detention curfews during the first five months of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005 and 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We are aware that the number of prisoners released on HOC has fallen since 2004 and we are monitoring the situation. We aim to release all eligible prisoners who pass the risk assessment but public safety will not be compromised; prisoners who are considered to present a risk to the public will not be released on HOC. Officials are investigating the reasons for the decreasing numbers of prisoners released on HOC. The factors that may contribute to the numbers released on HOC are complex and more work needs to be done to analyse the available information.

Human Rights Legislation

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received recent advice on the effects on the functions of his Department of human rights legislation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The recently published document Rebalancing the criminal justice system in favour of the law-abiding majority reflected the results of a review carried out inside Government, informed by experience and research and by consultation with the frontline on how the Human Rights Act impacts on the criminal justice system. This revealed that the Human Rights Act provides a powerful framework to protect the rights of individuals but secure a proper balance with the safety of the law-abiding majority. It gives effect in UK law to the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights to which we have been bound for over half a century.
	The document stated that where the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg interprets the Convention in a way which prevents the proper application of this balance (in particular the 1996 Chahal case where the Court found the UK Government could not consider the protection as a balancing factor when arguing the case for the deportation of a dangerous person) we will work with European partners to challenge this.
	The review also identified the need to do more to ensure that the Human Rights Act is not misinterpreted to prevent action to protect the public. In the light of recent cases such as the tragic murder of Naomi Bryant the Government are conducting a thorough review of how police, probation, parole and prison service balance public protection and individual and collective rights. If necessary we will legislate to ensure that public protection is given priority. In other cases, the review identified instances where organisations are over-cautious in their interpretation of competing rights. To combat this, we will make better practical advice available to practitioners on how rights should be balanced between offenders and the wider community and create an advice service to allow front-line practitioners to obtain fast online access to relevant legal resources.
	We will also institute a routine process of review through a scrutiny panel (made up of practitioners and lawyers) reporting to the National Criminal Justice Board (which includes relevant CJS Ministers) which will scrutinise the application of rights and ensure that the approach to administration is robust and fair and propose further changes to the law and guidance where it detects problems or imbalances.

Human Trafficking

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) arrested,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) found guilty of offences related to human trafficking, in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 20 June 2006
	Reflex, the multi-agency taskforce set up to deal with organised immigration crime, reported the following arrests for human trafficking. The figures that they have available on the number of arrests for trafficking are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 102 
			 2005-06 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	Following the commencement of dedicated trafficking offences in 2004 the convictions are as follows:
	
		
			   Conviction 
			 2004 3 
			 2005 23 
			 2006 (To date) 3 
		
	
	Prior to the introduction of this dedicated legislation there was only one conviction for a trafficking offence under the Immigration Act 1971.
	Operation Pentameter, a multi-agency initiative aimed at tackling the trafficking of human beings for sexual exploitation, was recently co-ordinated across the whole of the UK involving all 55 police forces and a number of NGOs. This has led to 232 arrests and 134 people charged for trafficking-related offences to date.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what organisations  (a) he has consulted and  (b) he plans to consult (i) as part of the public consultation on human trafficking and (ii) prior to the publication of the Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 21 June 2006
	The consultation document Tackling Human Trafficking - Consultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan was published on 5 January 2006 and concluded on 5 April 2006. The document was placed on the Home Office website and over 1,400 copies were sent to stakeholders including police, non-governmental organisations, charities, trade unions, judiciary, local councils and other Government Departments.
	A summary of responses report to the consultation was published on 21 June 2006. A list of the 206 respondents to the consultation can be found at Annex A of that report and can also be found on the Home Office website.
	The responses to the consultation will be considered in the course of developing the UK Action Plan to combat human trafficking. Further consultation with key stakeholders may be required prior to publication of the Action Plan in order to take forward suggestions made in the consultation process.

Human Trafficking

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the practical implications of the European Convention on Trafficking Human Beings in making his decision on whether to ratify the convention.

Vernon Coaker: The UK is currently considering whether to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Human Trafficking.
	In July last year a questionnaire was issued seeking information about the methods of support in place in other European Union (EU) countries. The responses to that questionnaire are now being analysed for evidence on how the automatic granting of reflection periods and residence permits to those presenting as victims of trafficking are operating in other European transit or destination countries where they have been introduced.
	A case-by-case approach, as operated in the United Kingdom, does not appear to be less effective at offering targeted support, than these new approaches.
	The Government are examining how the convention's approach could best be harmonised with effective immigration controls. They are also considering responses to the recent consultation paper on a proposed UK Action Plan on trafficking in humans

Human Trafficking

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of trafficking of children aged under 10 years into the UK have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Information related to the number of incidents of trafficked children into the UK, under the age of 10 years, in each of the past five years is not available. As yet there are no centrally collated data on the numbers of trafficked victims into the country.

Human Trafficking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for human trafficking offences since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The crime of trafficking in human beings was put on the statute book by this Government by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004. The following figures cover the period since the introduction of the relevant Acts. There were 102 arrests for human trafficking offences under Reflex-funded operations in the year 2004-05. The figures for arrests under Reflex- funded operations in the period 2005-06 are not yet available. However, the recent Operation Pentameter led to 232 arrests of people for trafficking or trafficking-related offences.

Identity Cards

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of producing identity cards; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: No assessment has been undertaken as it is not yet appropriate to make decisions regarding for example the materials and manufacturing processes which will be used to produce the cards. Any future regulatory impact assessments on the introduction of identity cards will include an assessment of environmental costs and benefits.

Identity Cards

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government have spent on developing the identity cards scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: Since the start of the financial year 2003-04, 46.4 million has been spent in total on the identity cards scheme up to the end of May 2006.

Identity Fraud

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of whether the risk of identity fraud to the general public has changed since July 2005.

Joan Ryan: The Home Office works with the police and law enforcement agencies, including the Serious Organised Crime Agency, other Government Departments and the private sector to consider intelligence, information, surveys, and statistics which provide an indication of the scale of the problem of identity fraud. Evidence from CIFASthe UK's Fraud Prevention Serviceand our updated estimate of the cost of identity fraud to the UK economy, suggest that the problem has grown in recent years, but data covering the timeframe of this question are not yet available.

Identity Fraud

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2006,  Official Report, column 1116W, to the right hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Dr. Strang), on identity fraud, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the fall in the number of detected fraudulent passport applications made using a deceased person's details.

Joan Ryan: In the view of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) there are two principal factors for the reduction in the number of recorded cases of passport applications made in the identities of deceased persons detected. The figures for the number of passport applications detected in which a deceased identity has been used are a combination of infant and adult death cases. The IPS received the infant death data from July 2001 in a number of tranches. Retrospective checks of the index of passports issued using this data identified a number of passports issued in the identities of deceased children. These retrospective checks significantly increased the number of cases of deceased identity fraud detected and confirmed between 2001 and 2004. Since then the rate of detection is based on the number of new fraudulent applications being detected. Secondly, since IPS started using this data 184 people have been arrested for making fraudulent passport applications. 82 of these people have been convicted of offences and 34 deported. Although deterrence is very difficult to measure, it is likely that this success has deterred other criminals from submitting applications in the identities of deceased persons.

Identity Fraud

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with EU governments on co-operation on identity fraud.

Joan Ryan: The Government are concerned about identity fraud and there is ongoing activity within the EU and the G8 about security of travel documents and borders that will contribute to combating the problem. This includes the work at EU level on enhancing the security of travel and identity documents, such as ePassports (also known as biometric passports) that we began issuing in March 2006. The use of biometric information to link a person to a passport helps to detect counterfeit or manipulated documents and it confirms the identity of the individual.
	The G8 Lyon-Roma group has undertaken a number of projects aimed at reducing document abuse. This included a commitment, which has been implemented, to submit data on lost and stolen passports to Interpol. A best practices paper on processing travellers who present lost, stolen or cancelled travel documents has also been approved and transmitted to the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Illegal Drug Use

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of illegal drug use in  (a) non-rural and  (b) rural areas among those aged (i) over 18 and (ii) under 18 years in (A) absolute terms and (B) per 1,000 population; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Figures from the British Crime Survey 2003-04 show that use of any illicit drug in the past year was reported by 148 per 1,000 adults aged 16 to 59 residing in inner-city areas, 127 per 1,000 of those in urban areas and 99 per 1,000 in rural areas in England and Wales.
	Figures for illegal drug use in rural and non-rural areas in absolute terms and specifically for under and over 18s are not available.

Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals have been  (a) arrested and  (b) cautioned by the police since 1997; how many of these were found subsequently to be illegal immigrants; and how many were deported.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals have been given non-custodial sentences since 1997; how many have been found to be illegal immigrants; and how many were deported.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Immigrants

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Liam Byrne: The Government have already made clear that they have no plans for an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Illegal Money Lending

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) charged with and  (b) convicted of illegal money lending in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Data for the number of people charged for illegal money lending are not held centrally.
	Data from the courts proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform show that the number of people convicted under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 Section 39 in 2000 was six, in 2001 was seven, in 2002 was three, in 2003 was two, and in 2004 was four.
	Court proceedings data for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.

Illegal Money Lending

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) charged with and  (b) convicted of illegal money lending in Suffolk in each of the past five years.

Tony McNulty: Data for the number of people charged for illegal money lending are not held centrally.
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform show that there were no convictions under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 Section 39 in the Suffolk police force area between 2000 and 2004. However, in England and Wales in 2000 there were six convictions, in 2001 there were seven, in 2002 there were three, in 2003 there were two, and in 2004 there were four.
	Court proceedings data for 2005 will be available in autumn of 2006.

Imams and Mosques Advisory Council

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with proposals to set up a national advisory council of imams and mosques.

Meg Munn: holding answer 18 May 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) was set up with the aim of providing central guidance and support to Mosques and Imams in the UK. This new body is intended to represent all Muslim traditions and schools of thought.
	The first stage of creating MINAB was a national consultation, led by Lord Ahmed, which sought views on issues such as the accreditation of Imams, better governance of mosques and interfaith activity. The next stage, the actual setting up of MINAB, has been led by a steering group comprising representatives from the British Muslim Forum, Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Association of Britain and the Al-Khoei Foundation.
	A press conference was held on 27 June which launched MINAB and set out its implementation strategy to deliver it as a working entity. At this press conference, the Advisory Board launched a good practice guide which sets out principles and procedures Mosques and Imams should follow to effectively lead their communities.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the functions and caseload of the immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	Immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold is at Beddington Cross, which is designed to temporarily store case files.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out in his statement of 19 July the caseload of IND, including files held at Beddington Cross.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the location is of the immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	The immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold is located at Beddington Cross near Croydon.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff work at the immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold.

Liam Byrne: IND's work-in-progress hold at Beddinton Cross, near Croydon, is a storage facility, and is staffed by 28 Home Office staff and 69 contractor staff.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) casual and  (b) temporary staff were recruited to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last three financial years.

Liam Byrne: The number of  (a) casual and  (b) temporary staff, who have been appointed to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last three financial years, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Casual  Temporary (agency) 
			 2003-04 n/a 873 
			 2004-05 181 1,603 
			 2005-06 261 2,125 
			 n/a = not available   Note:  These figures have been drawn from manual records kept in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are employed by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Tony McNulty: Under the terms of the Aliens' Employment Act 1955, the Immigration and Nationality Department currently employs no foreign nationals.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by the Enforcement and Removals Directorate of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on the use of police cells in each police authority area in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005.

Liam Byrne: Spend by each police authority area is shown in the following table for the financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06. The figures are presented in accordance with Resource Accounting and Budgeting and include accruals.
	
		
			   
			   Expenditure 
			  Police authority  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset Authority 56,514 159,617 
			 Bedfordshire Police 47,786 22,173 
			 British Transport  11,618 
			 Cambridgeshire Police 139,403 101,171 
			 Cheshire Police 9,125 103,849 
			 Cleveland Police 501 201,513 
			 Cumbria Police 169 1,161 
			 Derbyshire Police 4,323 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary 100,069 135,735 
			 Dorset Police 236,939 95,247 
			 Dumfries and Galloway Council 485 5,729 
			 Dyfed Powys Police 48,294 43,461 
			 Essex Police Authority 408,450 96,394 
			 Gloucestershire Police 47,491 30,035 
			 Grampian Joint Police 17,979 12,893 
			 Greater Manchester Police 202,215 186,900 
			 Gwent Police Authority 3,125 54,710 
			 Hampshire Constabulary 201,823 199,139 
			 Hertfordshire Police 19,516 47,336 
			 Humberside Police 79,577 63,001 
			 Kent Police Authority 428,692 613,515 
			 Lancashire Police 5,400 55,361 
			 Leicestershire Police 58,721 42,947 
			 Lincolnshire Police 319,699 91,626 
			 Merseyside Police 248,986 161,689 
			 Metropolitan Police 4,695,816 2,997,059 
			 Norfolk Police 6,848 5,647 
			 North Wales Police 182,685 254,313 
			 North Yorkshire Police 10,912 6,378 
			 Northamptonshire Police 69,720 315,080 
			 Northern Ireland Police 10,000 15,302 
			 Northumbria Police 22,897 47,878 
			 Nottinghamshire Police  18,466 
			 South Wales Police 177,763 252,276 
			 South Yorkshire Police 64,769 43,924 
			 Staffordshire Police 15,133 75,938 
			 Suffolk Police 1,882 1,118 
			 Surrey Police 219,344 138,219 
			 Sussex Police 526,004 441,915 
			 Thames Valley Police 350,095 193,481 
			 The Highland Council 7,414 5,242 
			 Warwickshire Police 3,733 12,848 
			 West Mercia Police 13,136 10,499 
			 West Midlands Police 213,672 123,612 
			 West Yorkshire Police 68,763 233,800 
			 Wiltshire Constabulary 35,297 82,326 
			 Total 9,381,165 7,812,138

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Best Practice recommendations made on page 59 of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report 2004, what improvements his Department has made to people aspects in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Liam Byrne: Since the publication of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report in September 2004 the Enforcement and Removals Directorate has implemented several changes, including:
	All staff are involved in business planning to encourage 'buy in' to targets
	Performance is monitored against targets and cascaded down throughout the Directorate
	Training on Performance Management is available and encouraged to all staff from SEO and above
	The Department is committed to building a culture where high performance is delivered, recognised and rewarded.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Best Practice recommendation made on page 58 of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report 2004, what improvements his Department has made to Immigration and Nationality Directorate data collection.

Liam Byrne: Since the publication of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report in September 2004 the Enforcement and Removals Directorate has implemented several changes, including:
	Improving data quality on our main management information databases by 11 per cent.
	Reducing the number of locally created and held databases. Where appropriate incorporating their functionality into the main Immigration Nationality Directorate central Case Information Database (CID).

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the recommendations made in the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Final Report 2004 his Department has implemented; what the time scale is for implementing each of the remaining recommendations; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement report made 20 recommendations. 19 are now considered to be complete, part of IND policy or no longer relevant.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Best Practice recommendations made on page 60 of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report 2004, what improvements his Department has made to performance management processes in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Liam Byrne: Since the publication of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report in September 2004 the Enforcement and Removals Directorate has implemented several changes, including:
	Implementation of a Performance Management Framework
	Linking the setting of removals targets to Local Enforcement Office (LEO) budgets
	Introduction of electronic duty rostering system for all operational staff
	Standardising performance reporting schedules and the introduction of an operational performance league table
	Conducting a programme of quality assurance visits to Local Enforcement Offices

Information Technology

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) his Department,  (b) MI5 and  (c) the Metropolitan Police (i) uses and (ii) has used (A) TeraText and (B) Latent Semantic Indexing programmes.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 July 2006
	MI5 neither confirm nor deny their use of TeraText and Latent Semantic Indexing programmes. The Metropolitan Police does not use either of these programmes. Home Office Corporate Services report that they use Latent Semantic Indexing in Meridio as part of the Electronic Document Record Management Project. None of the other constituent parts of the Home Office uses either of these programmes.

Information Technology

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Nomis, Visor, CRAMS and OASys IT systems are compatible.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The C-NOMIS, CRAMS, VISOR and OASys IT systems are compatible from business, user and technical perspectives. They provide complementary support for the management of offenders now and for the future. C-NOMIS is planned to replace the CRAMS case management system (which dates back to the mid-1990s) and is needed to support end-to-end offender management. Data are shared electronically between some of these systems already. Data sharing is planned to be extended as part of the development of C-NOMIS. All these systems operate according to the requirements of GSI, the government secure intranet, which provides common standards for infrastructure and security.

International Migration

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) mechanisms are in place and  (b) methodology is employed to assess the impact of international migration on (i) cultural and community cohesion, (ii) housing demand and (iii) the economy, wage-levels and unemployment when determining  (A) his policy on immigration and  (B) the accepted number of migrants to this country.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 July 2006
	The Government set no target figure for the number of migrants to Britain, but shapes their policies regarding admission to the country on the basis of their international and humanitarian obligations and of the interests of the nation. In doing so they do not rely on any single mechanism or methodology, but draw on a wide range of statistical and other data to reach their assessments.

Internet Child Safety

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will move the information on his Department's website on internet child safety away from the section marked 'police' into a section where it can easily be found by those seeking information.

Tony McNulty: The main Home Office website for the publicwww.homeoffice.gov.ukwas redeveloped in October 2005. The information published on it follows a design and navigational structure that was heavily tested on actual public users of the website, who helped dictate its user-friendly structure. Indeed the main Home Office website was recognised in a recent independent report published by Precedent Communications as being the best of the 32 UK public sector websites they assessed.
	The main information on child protection on the internet is held in the 'police' area of the site as most of it is aimed at practitioners. But, in addition to this the information aimed at the general public is cross- referred on the main site. Under the top-level navigational title 'Crime  victims', there is a section that describes what government is doing to reduce crime (which has a page dedicated specifically to internet crime) and another section that describes what members of the public can do to prevent crime (which in turn has a page on how to stay safe online).
	In both of these cases there is a wealth of useful information about how to keep children safe online, as well as a link under 'Related Documents' to a document called 'Guidance on how to search safely'.
	Also, using terms such as 'child protection' or 'internet safety' in the Home Office site search will readily find this key information.
	In addition about 70 per cent. of traffic to most websites comes from Google and other search engines, so someone interested in child safety online is very likely to type a set of keywords to find what they are looking for. If that person is very distinctly interested in the guidance issued by the Home Office on child safety online, and typed 'internet child safety, Home Office' into Google, the ThinkUKnow website and the Home Office Child Protection pages on the police website are the first two entries delivered.

Invest to Save Funding

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance his Department plans to afford to officials of local authorities who are in receipt of Invest to Save funding prior to the withdrawal of that funding to ensure the continuation of projects supported by it; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 10 July 2006
	The Home Secretary has no plans to make a statement on Invest to Save Budget (ISB) funding. The ISB exists to provide funding to help innovative projects get off the ground. ISB funding is explicitly time-limited and is not intended to sustain a project over the long term.

IT Systems

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) VISOR,  (b) Exhibit,  (c) Libra and  (d) other Home Office IT systems are accessible to disabled staff and those who regularly use assistive technology.

Liam Byrne: ViSOR (Violent Offender and Sex Offender Register) user interface has been favourably assessed by accessibility consultants, particularly with regard to its suitability for use with screen reading software. Both xhibit (exchanging Hearing Information By Internet Technology) and Libra are Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) IT systems.

Justice and Home Affairs Meeting

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the agenda is for the Justice and Home Affairs Ministers' meeting on 1 and 2 June; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 8 May 2006
	The agenda for the JHA Council meeting on 1 and 2 June is set out as follows. A letter was sent to the chair of the European Scrutiny Committee on the 1 June, in order for the information to reach Parliament in a timely manner. The text of the letter is also set as follows.
	 2732nd Meeting of the Council Of The European Union (Justice and Home Affairs)
	1. Adoption of the provisional agenda.
	2. Approval of the list of A items.
	3. Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the European Evidence Warrant (EEW) for obtaining objects, documents and data for use in proceedings in criminal matters.
	4. Draft Framework Decision on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to judgments in criminal matters imposing custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty for the purpose of their enforcement in the European Union.
	5. Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on certain procedural rights in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union.
	6. Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Small Claims Procedure.
	7. Draft Council Decision concerning arrangements for cooperation between Asset Recovery Offices of the Member States.
	8. Intelligence-led law enforcement - Council conclusions setting the EU priorities for the fight against organised crime based on OCTA.
	9. Counter-Terrorism: - Report on the implementation of the EU-Counter-Terrorism Strategy/Action Plan and the EU Strategy on Radicalisation and Recruitment
	10. Future of Europol.
	11. JHA External relations (a) Ministerial Conference on the Role of internal security in relations between the EU and its neighbours (4-5 May 2006, Vienna) (b) Action Oriented Papers Western Balkans and Afghanistan (c) EU-US JHA Ministerial Troika (3 May 2006, Vienna) (d) Meeting between the EU presidency, the Russian Federation and the United States of America at Ministerial level on a Tripartite Cooperation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs, four May 2006 - Vienna Initiative.
	12. Follow-up to Hampton Court: Implementation of priority actions in the area of migration. - Information from the Commission'.
	13. A.O.B  Security arrangements in relation with World Cup Football Championships and other major sports events in the margins of the CouncilMeeting of the Mixed Committee at Ministerial Level.
	l. Level. Adoption of the provisional agenda
	2. SIS II - Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen information system (SIS II).
	3. Common Visa Application Centres - Presentation by the Commission.
	4. A.O.B
	I thought that it would be useful if I were to outline what I expect to be discussed at the JHA Council on 1 and 2 June. While the Home Secretary would normally make a written statement to the House, due to the timing of recess and the Council, and to make this most useful to you, I preferred to write after the pre-Council COREPER. There will, of course, be a written statement on discussion at the Council after recess. Due to other commitments, the Home Secretary will not be attending the Council, but Baroness Ashton, the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, and I will be representing the UK. There will be a debate on the future of Europol with the presidency seeking to agree Council conclusions. While we are supportive of the Conclusions and in making Europol's legal instrument more flexible, we believe there is a need to consider the implications of changing the legal instrument before taking a final decision. The presidency will seek to reach a general approach on the European Evidence Warrant. Several issues remain to be resolved, including the terms of the ground for refusal based on territoriality and the concerns of those who wish to clarify the scope of the offences for which dual criminality will not apply. We are supportive of the presidency's proposals on the territoriality clause, which would allow us to refuse an EEW where the conduct concerned took place in this country and would be legal here. The UK does not share the concern of those who wish to provide clarification in the Framework Decision of the offences for which dual criminality will not apply but we are hopeful that a solution can be reached based on compromise proposals from the presidency. There will be discussion on the Framework Decision for the Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences within the EU. The presidency has put forward a proposal for the circumstances in which a prisoner could be transferred without his or the executing State's consent. The Government accepts the proposal, and believes that the prisoner's consent should not be required where the prisoner was to be transferred to the State in which he had his normal permanent residence. This has clear benefits for prisoners being able to serve sentences close to their communities and families and should have an impact in terms of likelihood to re-offend. There is likely to be a political discussion on the presidency proposal for a framework. Decision on certain procedural rights. The UK would like to continue discussion and at this stage and not to close down any options for taking forward the work. The UK continues to place a strong emphasis on practical measures to benefit citizens. The presidency intends to invite Council to agree the General Approach to the proposed Regulation establishing a European Small Claims procedure. This text will provide improved and cost-effective access to justice for European citizens in small claims across borders and is an initiative which the Government has welcomed. The presidency will be seeking to achieve agreement on the Draft Conclusions on the Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA). This is the first annual OCTA, which replaces the Organised Crime Situation Report. The UK welcomes the first annual OCTA and supports the priorities as currently drafted. There will be a report on the implementation of the EU Counter Terrorism Strategy/Action Plan. We expect the presidency to reach a general approach on the Council Decision on Asset Recovery Offices. The UK negotiated changes in relation to civil recovery proceedings, so that the initiative relates both to confiscation and civil recovery cases. The UK supports measures to strengthen international cooperation concerning the recovery of the proceeds of crime. The Austrian presidency will be seeking to agree a general approach on the New Financial Frameworks general funding programme Security and Safeguarding Liberties and to one specific programme within the general programme on Fundamental Rights and Justice. The UK welcomes the presidency's efforts to secure agreement and considers the texts now represent a good basis for future funding activity. In the mixed committee formation, there will be a presentation on Common Visa Application Centres. Finally, there will be a political discussion on the outstanding issues on the regulation on the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) and the presidency will be hoping to resolve these. The UK does not participate in this Regulation. However we feel the text needs to be more explicit on access for asylum authorities. In the margins there will be presentations on reinforcing the EU emergency and crisis response capacities and the May 2006 external relations ministerial conference in Vienna and Sweden will raise security arrangements in relation to the World Cup and the list of safe countries for the purposes of asylum.

Kashmir

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the amount of money leaving the UK to fund terrorist groups in Kashmir, with particular reference to the activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Government do not comment on specific intelligence and security matters. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were proscribed in 2001 and are one of a number of organisations whose activities are routinely monitored by the Security Service and law enforcement agencies.

Knives

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knives were handed in during the recent amnesty in  (a) Waltham Forest,  (b) Redbridge,  (c) London and  (d) in total.

Vernon Coaker: Figures for the knife amnesty which ran from 24 May to 30 June have been collated by police force area. The total number of items surrendered in London to the Metropolitan police and City of London police was 9,205. On figures recorded by police forces, the total handed in in England and Wales was 89,864.

Knives

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of illegal knives in circulation after the knife amnesty; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: There are no reliable estimates for the number of knives or offensive weapons in circulation. Knives have many legitimate purposes and, with a few exceptions, can be purchased legally. It is an offence to carry an article with a blade or point in a public place without good reason.

Knives

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce the number of illegal knives in circulation.

Tony McNulty: We held a nationwide knife amnesty from 24 May to the end of June during which just under 90,000 items were surrendered to police forces in England and Wales. Following the amnesty, many forces are focusing on enforcement operations, targeting those who carry knives without good reason. Operation Shield, run by the British Transport Police, continues to operate at mainline and underground stations using search technology to detect people carrying weapons on the transport network. Police, in conjunction with Trading Standards officers, have also carried out test purchase operations to identify retailers who are not abiding by the law and selling knives to young people under 16.
	In addition, we are tightening legislation through the Violent Crime Reduction Bill, with new powers for Head Teachers to search pupils for knives, a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon and an increase in the age at which someone can be sold a knife from 16 to 18. We have also announced that we will increase the maximum sentence for carrying a knife in a public place without good reason from two to four years.
	We are also supporting organisations such as Be Safe, which provide in-school training to young people on the dangers of carrying knives. Through our Connected Fund, we support small community-based organisations working on gun crime, knife crime and gangs issues. The fund is currently running its fifth round, with a closing date for bids of 4 August 2006.

Laptop Document Theft

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many documents on laptops within the possession of  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have been stolen since 1997.

Liam Byrne: It is not possible to determine how many documents may have been taken from Home Office laptop computers reported as stolen or lost since 1997, but none of these were in the possession of Home Office Ministers.
	To minimise the risk of document theft, laptop computers containing sensitive Home Office material are encrypted in accordance with UK Government security requirements.

Life Sentences

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will limit the ability of people who pleaded guilty to murder and receive life sentences to appeal against such sentences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No. There is no right of appeal against a life sentence imposed following a conviction for murder because this is a mandatory sentence. However, it is appropriate that there should be a right of appeal against life sentence tariffs in murder cases because they are imposed by the court, according to what it thinks is appropriate taking into account the seriousness of the offence, on the basis of its assessment of the facts of the individual case.

Magistrates Courts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section 19 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Section 19 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980 makes provision for the manner in which magistrates courts are to decide whether offences that are triable either way should be tried summarily or on indictment. It will be slightly modified when the new allocation arrangements in Schedule three to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are brought into force.

Male Rape

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been for the non-consensual sexual penetration of a male in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants convicted at all courts for offences relating to non-consensual sexual penetration of a male, in England and Wales, for 2001 to 2004 are contained in the following table. 2004 data shows the inclusion of a new list of offences brought under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into effect on 1 May 2004. 2000 data are not being provided as prior to the implementation of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 which commenced on 8 January 2001, the offence of buggery (under s.12 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 as subsequently amended) would have included instances of consensual as well as non-consensual acts. Statistics for 2005 court proceedings will be available in the autumn of 2006.
	
		
			  Number of defendants convicted at all courts for offences relating to non-consensual sexual penetration of a male in England and Wales, 2001 to 2004( 1,2) 
			   Years( 3) 
			  Offence description  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male of a male. Assault on a male by penetration. Rape of a male aged under 16(4) 120 94 78 95 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3,4) Data for 2001 to 2003 include offences from the following principal statutes: Sexual Offences Act 1956 (amended by the following amendments: Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and the Sexual Offences Act 2000), and Sexual Offences Act 2003. Data for 2004 include a list of new offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.  Source: RDSOffice for Criminal Justice Reform

Malicious Damage Act 1861

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many  (a) males and  (b) females in England and Wales were (i) prosecuted for and (ii) convicted of offences under sections (A) 35 and (B) 36 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861 in 2005.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is currently unavailable. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn.

Mental Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forensic psychiatrists per 100,000 population are available to assess the mental state of individuals taken into custody in each police authority area.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not collected centrally. At 30 September 2005, there were 239 forensic psychiatrists working in the national health service in England.

Ministerial Meetings

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when  (a) he and  (b) his Ministers have (i) met and (ii) had telephone conversations with the editors of the national press to discuss Home Office policy since January 2006; and where the meetings took place.

Tony McNulty: Ministers have meetings with the media from time to time and this includes discussions with various national press representatives.

Ministerial Posts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he used in making the decision to transfer the Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality to another post in his Department.

John Reid: I am responsible for deciding which Minister covers which policy areas within his team. I held discussions with my ministerial team and decided on this division of work.

Ministerial Visits

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which drug rehabilitation centres Ministers in his Department have visited in each year since 1997; and for what purposes.

Vernon Coaker: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministerial Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department have stayed overnight in (i) five star, (ii) four star and (iii) three star hotels on foreign visits in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The answer could be given only at disproportionate cost.

Ministerial Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The answer could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Ministerial Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discounts are available in relation to hotel accommodation used by  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department.

Liam Byrne: There is no single percentage discount figure available on hotel bookings. The Home Office, through its appointed contractor, negotiates rates for individual hotels or hotel chains subject to city location. All hotels offer their standard rate (the rack rate) which will then be discounted either to a Government rate available to all individuals carrying out work on behalf of the Home Office or other public sector bodies or, subject to there being sufficient volume room usage, special rates for individual departments. Generally the Home Office achieve savings on average of 30 per cent. on standard rates.

Mobile Phones

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers have been prosecuted for using mobile telephones while driving since the new laws restricting mobile telephone use while driving were introduced.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the years 2003 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the table.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of use of hand held mobile phone while driving( 1) , England and Wales, 2003 to 2004 
			   Number of offences 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 789 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3) introduced 1 December 2003.  Source: Court Proceedings Database.

Mobile Phones

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile telephone thefts there were in Brent in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Motoring Offences

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were  (a) prosecuted for and  (b) convicted of driving without insurance in each year since 1980.

Tony McNulty: Available information from 1980-2004 (latest available) for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, is given in the table.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts and findings of guilt at all courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) England and Wales, 1980-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   Total proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 1980 n/a (2)164,613 
			 1981 n/a (2)172,688 
			 1982 n/a (2)191,842 
			 1983 n/a (2)242,858 
			 1984 241,462 194,378 
			 1985 242,651 193,604 
			 1986 245,287 190,269 
			 1987 270,915 200,309 
			 1988 294,966 208,568 
			 1989 304,432 208,010 
			 1990 317,797 209,476 
			 1991 364,035 225,910 
			 1992 404,492 246,054 
			 1993 446,568 281,136 
			 1994 446,559 286,252 
			 1995 441,241 283,141 
			 1996 415,015 267,932 
			 1997 396,912 257,689 
			 1998 390,074 256,974 
			 1999 393,469 234,830 
			 2000 391,659 264,574 
			 2001 388,297 266,757 
			 2002 410,963 289,064 
			 2003 447,267 323,374 
			 2004 441,819 322,816 
			 n/a = data not available (1) Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (2) Magistrates courts only.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Mr. de Menezes

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission of its investigations into the death of Mr. de Menezes in London on 22 July 2005 and the conduct of the Metropolitan Police to be published.

Tony McNulty: Publication of the outcome of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigations into the events surrounding the fatal shooting of Mr. Jean Charles de Menezes is a matter for the IPCC as the independent body which carried out the investigations.

Mr. John Peach

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what correspondence he has received from Mr. John Peach, a constituent of the hon. Member for Peterborough and leader of Peterborough city council; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The Department's correspondence tracking system records that one piece of correspondence was received from Councillor Peach, dated 23 June 2006. This letter was addressed to the Home Secretary, Dr. John Reid and it chased a response to a letter dated 27 April 2006, addressed to the then Home Secretary, Charles Clarke. The Department has been unable to find a record of the 27 April letter. Councillor Peach was sent an acknowledgement to his letter on 3 July 2006 and a final response on 15 August 2006.

Mrs. Gelly Makamurie

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mrs. Gelly Makamurie, reference M1170992, will be notified on her application for indefinite leave to remain.

Liam Byrne: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to Mrs. Makamurie on 19 July 2006 informing her of the outcome of her application for further leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

Murder

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of murder in each of the last eight years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is provided in the table. The reasons for the fluctuations in the number of convictions are complex. 2004 had the largest number of convictions, but also a significantly higher proportion of successful prosecutions than any of the relevant years, with one exception.
	
		
			  Number of persons convicted of murder at all courts, England and Wales, 1997-2004( 1) 
			   Found guilty 
			 1997 275 
			 1998 256 
			 1999 252 
			 2000 261 
			 2001 285 
			 2002 324 
			 2003 277 
			 2004 361 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.

Murder

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the last 25 years convicted murderers released from  (a) psychiatric institutions and  (b) prisons have committed murders after release; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information available centrally relates to homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales, and shows numbers of suspects convicted of these homicides after release or termination of sentence for a previous homicide conviction. The following table provides this information for each year since 1980. It is not possible to distinguish between sentences served in psychiatric institutions and prisons.
	
		
			  Suspects convicted of homicide after release or termination of sentence for previous homicide conviction( 1) 
			  Year offence initially recorded  Number of suspects 
			 1980 1 
			 1981 3 
			 1982 2 
			 1983 3 
			 1984 4 
			 1985 3 
			 1986 3 
			 1987 1 
			 1988 4 
			 1989 4 
			 1990 6 
			 1991 2 
			 1992 6 
			 1993 2 
			 1994 2 
			 1995 6 
			 1996 1 
			 1997 1 
			 1997-98 1 
			 1998-99 1 
			 1999-2000 5 
			 2000-01 1 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 1 
			 2003-04 1 
			 2004-05 1 
			 (1) As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.

Narcotics Production

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Cambridgeshire South East dated 10 July 2006 on Home Office interpretation of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, whether the UK would continue to be self-sufficient in narcotics production were manufacturers of oxycodone hydrochloride formulations to relocate production to another EU country; how loss of self-sufficiency would effect  (a) jobs,  (b) the balance of payments and  (c) continuity of supply of opiate-based analgesics within the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: It is not possible accurately to predict the development of the pharmaceutical narcotics industry in the UK in relation to oxycodone. There are many variables which would determine the future situation. These include, for example, the choice of territory, obtaining approvals from Governments abroad, the development of a production facility and downstream marketing arrangements.

Narcotics Production

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons pharmaceutical manufacturers of opiate-based analgesic medicines are limited in the sources of imported raw materials from overseas manufacturers; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: In common with other major opiate manufacturing countries, the United Kingdom does not permit importation of such base material drugs domestically manufactured and readily available. This policy is in furtherance of the aims of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 to limit international supply to what is necessary for countries' medical needs. It is adjusted to take account of treaty obligations on overseas trade with the European Union and the European Economic Association only.

National Offender Management Service

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has consulted  (a) police organisations and  (b) police authorities on (i) plans to change probation boundaries and (ii) regionalisation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In October 2005 the Home Office published a consultation document, Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-offending, which set out proposals to give to the Secretary of State the statutory duty to make arrangements with others to provide probation services and to replace probation boards with probation trusts as the public sector providers with whom he may contract. 748 written responses were received, including some from the police, and a summary was set out in Working with Probation to Protect the Public and Reduce Re-offending which was published in March. There are no current plans to change the boundaries of probation areas.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is of administering regional offender managers and their offices within the National Offender Management structure in 2006-07.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The delegated budget for the 10 Regional Offender Managers' offices for 2006-07 is 11,780,682 (this includes contracted prisons controllers' costs of 2.5 million). This is divided between the ROMs according to profiles reflecting the differing needs and requirements of each region, and covers office staff and management costs.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals are employed by  (a) the National Offender Management Service and  (b) each Regional Offender Manager.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The National Offender Management Service consists of National Offender Management Service (NOMS) HQ, Her Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service.
	NOMS HQ employs 1,375.7 full-time equivalents.
	Her Majesty's Prison Service employs 47,637 full-time equivalents.
	The National Probation Service employs 21,061.4 full-time equivalents.
	The NOMS HQ total includes the staff of the Regional Offender Managers. Broken down by region, the totals for each office are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 East Midlands 19 
			 North East 9 
			 South East 11 
			 Wales 13 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 8 
			 London 9 
			 North West 9 
			 South West 9 
			 West Midlands 7 
			 Central support 2

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether legislation is required to allow Regional Offender Managers to contest probation work.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Currently, the statutory duty to make arrangements for the provision of probation services rests exclusively with the local probation board. Legislation is needed to enable Regional Offender Managers to commission services directly from providers other than the board.

National Offender Management Service

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which IT systems  (a) are used and  (b) are planned to be used for the National Probation Service.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The following national IT systems are currently used:
	1. Case ManagementCRAMS, DELIUS, ICMS, IOSS, CATO;
	2. Offender AssessmentOASys;
	3. Accredited ProgramsIAPS;
	4. EmailLotus Notes Mail;
	5. IntranetEPIC;
	6. Resource PlanningWMT;
	7. Violent and Serious Offender RegisterVISOR; and
	8. Crown Courts LinksEXHIBIT.
	 (b) For the foreseeable future the above systems are planned to continue in use subject to the following exceptions.
	1. Case ManagementC-NOMIS will replace items one and three above to support end-to-end offender management;
	2. Offender AssessmentA replacement OASys system is planned to integrate with C-NOMIS; and
	3. Magistrates Courts Linksuse of LIBRA is planned.

National Offender Management Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional funds have been made available during the last two financial years to the National Offender Management Service to run Prolific Persistent Offender Programmes.

John Reid: The responsibility for delivering the Prolific and Other Priority Offenders (PPO) programme rests with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs). The Programme announced by the Prime Minister in March 2004, firmly placed the onus on CDRPs to prioritise locally targeted groups of problematic offenders within existing resources to reduce their offending behaviour. We have made no commitments for additional funding, centrally. The work of NOMS is key to this strategy to ensure that PPOs are prioritised under the seven National Reducing Re-offending Action Plan pathways for the effective resettlement and rehabilitation activity.

National Offender Management Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of offenders in each probation area in England and Wales have been allocated to  (a) Tier 1,  (b) Tier 2,  (c) Tier 3 and  (d) Tier 4 under the Offender Management Model.

John Reid: Complete information on the number of offenders falling within each supervision tier is not currently available.

National Insurance Numbers

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006, from the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mrs. McGuire),  Official Report, column 1579W, on national insurance numbers, what action was taken in the cases notified to the immigration and nationality directorate.

Liam Byrne: Cases are referred, by the Department for Work and Pensions National Identity Fraud Unit (NIFU), to a central point of contact within the Immigration Service (IS) for onward transmission to local IS intelligence units for assessment and, where appropriate, action.

National Probation Directorate

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the future of the National Probation Directorate; what assessment he has made of the implications of those plans for staffing levels; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The National Probation Directorate (NPD) continues to play a role in protecting the public and helping to reduce re-offending. Any reorganisation within the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will seek to ensure these vital functions are continued. Due consideration will be given to the impact on staffing levels from any reorganisation within NOMS. This would include the effects of the Home Office Headcount Exercise.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested for,  (b) charged with and  (c) convicted of an offence under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

John Reid: The information requested on arrests is not available within my Department. Information on arrests held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform is based on persons arrested for recorded crime notifiable offences by main offence group (i.e. sexual offences, theft and handling stolen goods, violence against the person, burglary etc.) only.
	The Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform does not hold information with regard to charging. The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 only came into force during 2006, so data prior to this year are not applicable. Convictions data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.

Network of Buddhist Organisations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Department's list of organisations consulted on religious issues, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Network of Buddhist Organisations is representative of that faith's adherents; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office has made no such assessment. The Network of Buddhist Organisations is one of the Buddhist organisations that the Home Office consults with.

New Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the criminal offences created by the  (a) Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003,  (b) Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and  (c) Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.

John Reid: The following table lists the criminal offences created by these Acts:
	
		
			   Criminal offence 
			  Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003  
			 Section 34(1) Failure by a financial institution to comply with a requirement imposed under a customer information order. 
			 Section 34(3) False statement made by a financial institution in purported compliance with a customer information order. 
			 Section 39(1) and 39(3) The above two offences in Scotland. 
			 Section 42 Disclosure by an institution or its employees of specified facts about a financial investigation. 
			 Section 63(6) Failing to deliver a driving licence and its counterpart to the Secretary of State when required to do so under subsection (1). 
			 Section 64(6) The above offence in Northern Ireland. 
			 Section 79(2) Inserts two new Northern Ireland offences into the Road Traffic Act 1988 relating to disabilities 
			 Section 81 Inserts two offences into the Data Protection Act (section 54A of that Act) relating to the inspection of overseas information systems. 
			 Section 89 Creates three offences in the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act regarding false monetary instruments. Section 88 has similar effect in relation to England and Wales by expanding existing offences in the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. 
			   
			  Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003  
			 Section 4(1) Section 4(2)(a), (b) and (c) Four offences relating to premises subject to a closure notice. 
			 Section 32(2) Knowingly contravening a dispersal direction. 
			 Section 37(1) and 39(3) Not new offences as such, but they expand the list of weapons for possession offences under the Firearms Act 1968. 
			 Section 40(4) Opening noisy premises in contravention of a closure notice. 
			 Section 54(1) Sale of aerosol paint container to a person under the age of 16. 
			 Section 58(6) Inserts a new offence into the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 relating to attendance at a rave. 
			 Section 61 Inserts two new offences into the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 relating to trespassing. 
			 Section 74(7) Intentionally obstructing a person acting in the exercise of powers of entry for the purposes of complaints and appeals. 
			 Section 75(1), (9) and (10) Failure to comply with a remedial notice. Failure to comply with an order to comply with a remedial notice. A further failure to comply with such an order. 
			 Section 77(9) Obstruction of a person exercising powers to enter land 
			   
			  The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003  
			 Section 1 Offence of female genital mutilation. 
			 Section 2 Offence of assisting a girl to mutilate her own genitalia. 
			 Section 3 Offence of assisting a non-UK person to mutilate overseas a girl's genitalia.

Nigerian Citizens

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the number of Nigerian citizens in the UK who have overstayed on a visitor's visa;
	(2)  how many Nigerian citizens holding visitors' visas were in the UK on 30 June 2006.

Liam Byrne: Since embarkation controls were dismantled in 1994, information on the number of Nigerian citizens in the UK who have overstayed on a visitor's visa is not available. Foreign nationals who visit the UK are not required to inform the authorities when they leave the country. It is not possible to obtain the figures of Nigerian citizens who arrive in the UK with a visitor's visa. Scheduled to commence in 2008, the e-Borders programme will strengthen and modernise our border control including providing an electronic record of all those entering and leaving the UK.

Non-emergency Telephone Numbers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the trial of the 101 non-emergency telephone number in Cardiff; and whether he plans to implement the scheme throughout England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: An evaluation of the introduction in Cardiff on 2 June 2006 of the single non-emergency number, 101, as well as ongoing performance and quality monitoring, are currently under way. Information from these assessments and from four other first wave areas will inform the strategy for future implementation.

Nuisance Neighbours

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to assist local authorities in dealing with nuisance neighbours.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office along with the Department for Communities and Local Government is developing the Respect agenda to assist local authorities in dealing with nuisance neighbours. The Respect Action Plan recognises the important role social landlords play in tackling antisocial behaviour, including local housing authorities. We have provided local authorities in their housing role with a wide range of tools and powers to tackle antisocial behaviour, including injunctive powers, demoted tenancies, antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) and acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs). We have encouraged and supported them through the Together campaign in delivering preventative approaches, providing support to victims and witnesses, and taking enforcement action.
	As part of the Respect programme we will also intervene with highly problematic families that account for a disproportionate amount of antisocial behaviour. We will also establish Family Intervention Projects in 50 areas by the end of 2006 to address the causes of their behaviour, alongside supervision and enforcement tools to provide them with the incentives to change. In some communities, we know that there are premises which are a constant focus for antisocial behaviour and we will be consulting on a new power to allow the closure of any residential or licensed premises for a set period, regardless of tenure, that is causing significant, persistent and serious nuisance to local communities.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has also introduced a number of extra powers for local authorities to deal with nuisance neighbours under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. The statutory nuisance regime can already be used to deal with noise.

Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for representing Welsh interests on the board of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The National Criminal Justice Board is the key high-level forum in which the services and departments reporting to the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, and the Attorney-General, come together to exercise joint leadership over the criminal justice system. Its membership comprises those persons with executive responsibility to deliver key public service agreements and other high-level goals namely, senior and junior Ministers of the three CJS departments, heads of services, other key officials, and representatives of some key external stakeholders (Association of Police Authorities, Association of Chief Officers of Police, Metropolitan Police and the Criminal Justice Council). Members are collectively responsible for Welsh interests. In addition, the four Local Criminal Justice Boards in Wales are sponsored by members of the NCJB.

Off-licence Alcohol Sales

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for off-licence alcohol sales to people  (a) already under the influence of alcohol and  (b) under the age of 18 years in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: It is not possible to identify the number of prosecutions there have been for off-licence alcohol sales to people already under the influence of alcohol or under the age of 18 as the data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform do not identify those offences that have taken place in an off licence. However, data for the number of defendants prosecuted for certain offences relating to alcohol can be found in the following table.
	Penalty Notices for Disorder have been available to the police for the offences of the sale of alcohol  (a) to a drunken person and  (b) to a person under the age of 18 since 1 November 2004, although data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform do not identify those offences that have taken place in an off licence. The following table shows 2004 PND data for  (a) selling alcohol to a person under 18. However there were no PNDs issued for  (b) Sale of alcohol to a drunken person in 2004. The table also shows provisional 2005 PND data for both  (a) and  (b).
	
		
			  Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued by police force area and offence, all ages, 2004 
			  Police force  Selling alcohol to person under 18 
			  England  
			   
			 Avon and Somerset  
			 Bedfordshire  
			 Cambridgeshire  
			 Cheshire  
			 Cleveland  
			 Cumbria  
			 Derbyshire  
			 Devon and Cornwall  
			 Dorset 22 
			 Durham  
			 Essex 7 
			 Gloucestershire  
			 Greater Manchester  
			 Hampshire 2 
			 Hertfordshire  
			 Humberside 2 
			 Kent  
			 Lancashire 30 
			 Leicestershire 2 
			 Lincolnshire  
			 London, City of  
			 Merseyside 2 
			 Metropolitan 21 
			 Norfolk  
			 North Yorkshire  
			 Northamptonshire 1 
			 Northumbria 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 9 
			 South Yorkshire 2 
			 Staffordshire  
			 Suffolk  
			 Surrey  
			 Sussex  
			 Thames Valley  
			 Warwickshire  
			 West Mercia 1 
			 West Midlands 6 
			 West Yorkshire 4 
			 Wiltshire  
			   
			  Wales  
			 Dyfed-Powys  
			 Gwent  
			  North Wales 1 
			 South Wales  
			 Total 113 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued in 2005, for which outcomes data have been reported (provisional data) by offence and police force area 
			  Police force area  DA07Sale of alcohol to under 18 (now DA18)  DA16Sale of alcohol to drunken person 
			 Avon and Somerset 53  
			 Bedfordshire 2  
			 Cambridgeshire 11  
			 Cheshire 49  
			 Cleveland 33 1 
			 Cumbria 23  
			 Derbyshire 8  
			 Devon and Cornwall 82 1 
			 Dorset 20  
			 Durham 0  
			 Essex 117  
			 Gloucestershire 39  
			 Greater Manchester 125  
			 Hampshire 65 1 
			 Hertfordshire 3  
			 Humberside 45  
			 Kent 10 2 
			 Lancashire 178 4 
			 Leicestershire 38 4 
			 Lincolnshire 26 1 
			 London, City of 0  
			 Merseyside 71  
			 Metropolitan 160 3 
			 Norfolk 0  
			 North Yorkshire 0  
			 Northamptonshire 39  
			 Northumbria 47  
			 Nottinghamshire 116  
			 South Yorkshire 107 1 
			 Staffordshire 19  
			 Suffolk 15  
			 Surrey 0  
			 Sussex 62 7 
			 Thames Valley 12  
			 Warwickshire 3  
			 West Mercia 21 2 
			 West Midlands 113  
			 West Yorkshire 72 1 
			 Wiltshire 8  
			
			 Dyfed Powys 18  
			 Gwent 20  
			 North Wales 56  
			 South Wales 123  
			
			  England and Wales 2,009 28 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates courts for certain offences relating to the sale of alcohol, by region( 1) , England and Wales 2004 
			  Statute  Offence description  Region  Prosecuted 
			 Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 6. Licensing Act 1964 Sec 172. Holder of permission not to allow drunkenness etc. permitting drunkenness or riotous conduct on the premises or selling liquor to a drunken person. North East 1 
			   North West 3 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside 1 
			   East Midlands (3) 
			   West Midlands 2 
			   East of England (3) 
			   London 2 
			   South East 4 
			   South West (3) 
			   Wales (3) 
			 
			England and Wales 13 
			 
			 Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 4(1). Licensing Act 1964 Sec 169(1). Holder of occasional permission or his agent knowingly selling to, knowingly allow consumption by or allowing any person to sell, intoxicating liquor to a person under 18. Selling etc intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises.(2) North East 63 
			   North West 227 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside 59 
			   East Midands 36 
			   West Midlands 80 
			   East of England 28 
			   London 162 
			   South East 66 
			   South West 33 
			   Wales 82 
			 
			England and Wales 836 
			 
			 Licensing Act 1964 Sec 181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1988 Sec 17. Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18. North East (3) 
			   North West 1 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside (3) 
			   East Midands (3) 
			   West Midlands 1 
			   East of England 3 
			   London (3) 
			   South East (3) 
			   South West (3) 
			   Wales (3) 
			 
			England and Wales 5 
			 
			 Licensing Act 2003 S.141 Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk. North East (3) 
			   North West (3) 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside (3) 
			   East Midands (3) 
			   West Midlands (3) 
			   East of England (3) 
			   London (3) 
			   South East (3) 
			   South West (3) 
			   Wales (3) 
			 
			England and Wales 0 
			 
			 Licensing Act 2003 S.146 Sale of alcohol to person under 18. North East (3) 
			   North West 14 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside (3) 
			   East Midands (3) 
			   West Midlands (3) 
			   East of England (3) 
			   London 5 
			   South East (3) 
			   South West (3) 
			   Wales 1 
			 
			England and Wales 20 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2 )Includes Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18 (3 )Nil

Operation Pentameter

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1670-71W, on Operation Pentameter, to which countries the three minors have been repatriated; from which countries the other minors originate; how long he expects them to be in the care of social services; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 14 July 2006
	The three minors identified in Operation Pentameter as having been repatriated were from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The other minors identified were from Burundi, Cameroon, Sudan, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Kenya.
	The length of time that the victims will be in the care of the local authority will be determined by an assessment of any ongoing risk of harm they face and their continuing need for care and support while they remain in this country.

Organised Crime

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations into organised crime groups have been undertaken by  (a) the Serious Organised Crime Agency and  (b) other police organisations in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is not a police organisation. It is an intelligence-led agency with law enforcement powers and harm reduction responsibilities. SOCA undertakes a range of operational activity in order to fulfil its functions as defined in sections two and three of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. As SOCA came into being only on 1 April 2006, there are no figures available for the current year. Figures for other police forces are not collated nationally.

Oxfordshire Coroner

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings were held between  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department and the Oxfordshire Coroner between 17 July 2003 and 31 March 2004.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 13 July 2006
	No meeting occurred between the Oxfordshire Coroner and a Minister of the Home Office within the time period specified. It is not possible, within the limits on reasonable costs, to determine whether any official within the Home Office met with the Coroner. The Oxfordshire Coroner, does not believe there were any meetings with officials of the Home Office, other than the Coroners Unit (now within the Department for Constitutional Affairs), within the period specified.

Oxycodone Hydrochloride

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much oxycodone hydrochloride raw material was produced in the UK in each year since 1997; who produced it; and what estimate he has made of UK demand for oxycodone hydrochloride raw material in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information currently available is in the following tables.
	Production figures represent domestic demand and stock. The only UK manufacturer of oxycodone is Macfarlan Smith Ltd.
	
		
			  Production of oxycodone hydrochloride 
			   Kilos 
			 2000 1650.62 
			 2001 2631.4 
			 2002 4716.29 
			 2003 5213.33 
			 2004 8428.89 
			 2005 12086 
		
	
	
		
			  Estimates 
			   Kilos 
			 2002 60 
			 2003 80 
			 2004 90 
			 2005 90 
			 2006 400

Parenting Orders

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been issued in Easington constituency; and how many have been breached in the last two years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Youth offending teams (YOTs) report to the Youth Justice Board the number of parenting orders related youth offending or antisocial behaviour broken down by YOT area. 36 parenting orders were made in County Durham YOT area during the year April 2004 to March 2005 and 15 during April 2005 to March 2006, which are the latest available data.
	The Department for Education and Skills has collected data on parenting orders in cases of non-attendance and exclusion from school since September 2004. This data are collected at local authority level. For the Durham local authority area, in which the Easington constituency lies, no parenting orders were reported between September 2004 and 31 December 2005, which is the latest period for which data are available.
	The data reported to the Home Office on breaches of parenting orders have not been given because their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile such figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. We have started a programme of work in the Home Office looking at the quality of existing data on court sentencing and how this might be improved.

Parenting Orders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been made in each year since they were introduced, and how many have been breached in each year, broken down by local authority area.

Tony McNulty: Parenting orders were piloted between 30 September 1998 and 31 March 2000, during which period 284 parenting orders were made but data showing the breakdown by area are not available. Parenting orders were commenced in England and Wales in June 2000.
	The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has since 2000 collected the number of parenting orders by youth offending team area, as reported to it by youth offending teams including education-related orders where the YOT has been involved. A copy of a table showing the numbers of parenting orders related to youth offending or other civil orders and those related to non attendance of children at school which were made between 2000 and March 2004, has been placed in the House Libraries (Table A). The YJB is currently reviewing the numbers of parenting orders for the period 2004-05 and 2005-06. I will write to the hon. Member when the reviewed figures are available.
	Since September 2004, the Department for Education and Skills has collected data on the number of parenting orders in England related to non- attendance of children at school and exclusion from school at local authority level. Between 1 September 2004 and 31 December 2005 local authorities in England did not report any applications to the courts for parenting orders in the case of exclusions. A copy of the table showing the numbers of parenting orders made following truancy prosecution between 1 September 2004 and 31 December 2005 has been placed in the House Libraries (Table B). Data for the period 1 January 2006 to 21 April 2006 will be available in September. The Welsh Assembly Government do not collect numbers of parenting orders for truancy or exclusion in Wales.
	The figures reported to the Home Office on breaches of parenting orders have not been given because their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile such figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. RDS have started a programme of work in the Home Office looking at the quality of existing data on court sentencing and how this might be improved.

Parliamentary Questions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last 12 months for answer by him on a named day  (a) were transferred and  (b) received a substantive answer (i) on the day named and (ii) after the day named.

Tony McNulty: Departments aim to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day and to endeavour to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled. Unfortunately, this is not always possible but this Department makes every effort to achieve these timescales.
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the number of transfers in respect of named day questions. The information on the number of named day parliamentary questions asked that received substantive answers, for the period 18 May 2005 to 30 April 2006, is as follows:
	Parliamentary questions answered on the day named: 165;
	Parliamentary questions answered after the day named: 634.

Parliamentary Questions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many ordinary written parliamentary questions tabled for answer by him in the last 12 months have been answered  (a) within 14 days,  (b) between 14 and 28 days,  (c) between 28 days and two months and  (d) in excess of two months after the date of tabling; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Departments aim to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day and to endeavour to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled. Unfortunately, this is not always possible but this Department makes every effort to achieve these timescales.
	Information in respect of answering times for parliamentary questions, for the period 18 May 2005 to 30 April 2006, is provided in the attached table.
	
		
			   Number  Percentage 
			 Less than 14 days 5,653 76 
			 15 to 28 days 548 7 
			 29 to 60 days 405 5 
			 Over 61 days 807 11 
			 Total 7,413

Parliamentary Questions

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer Question 49028 on DNA samples, tabled on 1 February 2006 by the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Hazel Blears), replied to the hon. Member on 2 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1408W.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive reply to Question  (a) 59554 on security staff and  (b) 61672 on election literature, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 May 2006
	My hon. Friend, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Police and Justice, the Member for Gedling, replied to the hon. Member on,  (a) 21 June  Official Report, column 2013W.
	I replied to the hon. Member,  (b) on 2 May,  Official Report, column 1410W.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many questions to him for written answer had on 25 May not received a reply within  (a) five,  (b) 10 and  (c) 20 parliamentary days of being tabled; and how many named day questions had not on that date received a substantive reply (i) by the named day and (ii) within (A) 10 and (B) 20 days of being tabled.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 5 June 2006
	I have placed the information that you requested within the following table.
	
		
			   All PQs 
			 Within five days 46 
			 6 to10 days 8 
			 11 to 20 days 9 
			 over 21 days 32 
			 Total 95 
		
	
	
		
			   Named days 
			 on the day 3 
			 2 to 10 days 2 
			 11 to 20 days 1 
			 over 21 days 7 
			 Total 13

Parliamentary Questions

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer Question 71379, tabled by the hon. Member for Taunton on 11 May, on police restructuring in the South West.

Tony McNulty: I replied to the hon. Member on 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 273W.

Parliamentary Questions

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer Question  (a) 74091 and  (b) 74299, on fingerprint evidence, tabled by the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan for answer on 25 May.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 3 July 2006
	I replied to the hon. Member on  (a) 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1180W and  (b) 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 76W.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department were awaiting a reply on 10 July 2006; which of those had been waiting longer than  (a) two and  (b) three weeks for a reply; and what the reason for the delay was in each case.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is provided in the following table. To provide the reason for the delay in individual cases would incur disproportionate costs.
	
		
			  Overall  PQs 
			 14-20 days 405 
			 Over 21 days 171 
			 Total 576

Parliamentary Questions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will draw to the attention of all those in his Department concerned with parliamentary questions the passage in Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice, 23rd edition, page 342, relating to the timing of answers to Questions.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 17 July 2006
	My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary is fully aware of the passage in Erskine May (page 342) that stresses the importance that Ministers should endeavour to answer such ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled. He has instructed me, as Minister of State, to take strategic and operational oversight of all parliamentary affairsincluding parliamentary questions. He has also written to the Speaker on 14 July 2006, stating that by 9 October the Department should be in a position to provide timely replies to Members' parliamentary questions. I have communicated this message to all officials within his Department.

Parliamentary Questions

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive answer to Question 80658 tabled on 27 June by the hon. Member for Totnes on Operation Pentameter.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 17 July 2006
	I replied to the hon. Member on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 556W.

Parliamentary Questions

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive answer to Question 78812 tabled on 20 June by the hon. Member for Totnes on child trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 17 July 2006
	I replied to the hon. Member on 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2028W.

Parliamentary Questions

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written questions to his Department remain unanswered at 25 July 2006 for  (a) between two and four weeks,  (b) between four and six weeks,  (c) between six and eight weeks and  (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer.

Tony McNulty: holding answer for 25 July2006
	Details of the number of unanswered parliamentary questions, as of 25 July 2006, are contained in the following table:
	
		
			   PQs  Named days 
			 2 to 4 weeks 129 30 
			 4 to 6 weeks 57 15 
			 6 to 8 weeks 75 10 
			 over 8 weeks 283 43 
			 Total 544 98

Parliamentary Questions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether in his Department there is a parliamentary question answering unit separate from branches dealing directly with matters for which his Department has responsibility;
	(2)  whether the drafting of replies to parliamentary questions in his Department is undertaken by officials with day-to-day responsibility for the subject matter of the question.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office ensures that its answers to questions abide by the terms of the Ministerial Code and the guidance issued in respect of the accuracy of answers. Ministers remain responsible for the answers given and seek the advice of relevant policy officials where required.

Parole Board

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were released on licence where the parole board decision was not unanimous in the 2005-06 financial year.

John Reid: Currently, any decision by a majority of the members of a parole board panel is legally the decision of the panel as a whole. No statistics are kept by the board as to whether decisions are taken unanimously or by a majority. The Government believe that the interests of public protection now demand that all such decisions should be taken unanimously and will bring forward legislation to this effect when parliamentary time allows.

Paroled Prisoners

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the rate of recidivism was amongst paroled prisoners in each of the last five years, broken down by length of sentence served by those paroled.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available. The most recent information on the re-offending of adults in England and Wales was published in December as Adult Re-offending: Results from the 2002 Cohort, Home Office Statistical Bulletin 25/05. The report is available online at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb2505.pdf

Passports

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to extend free passports to British citizens born after 2 September 1929 when they reach their 75 birthday.

Joan Ryan: I refer to the reply I gave on 15 May 2006,  Official Report, column 650W, in response to a question from the hon. member for East Londonderry.
	The decision to give free passports for those born on or before 2 September 1929 was announced on 19 May 2004. This was a special concession intended to recognise the sacrifices made by adults of the world war II generation, whether in the services or on the home front. It would therefore not be appropriate, and there are no plans, to extend the scheme by reducing the qualifying age.

Passports

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, column 514W, on passports, whether he plans to make UK passport facilities available to people in the Irish Republic on the same basis as Irish Passport applicants have in Northern Ireland.

Joan Ryan: I have no plans to change the current arrangements whereby British citizens can obtain UK passports from the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) only while present in the UK. British citizens resident in the Irish Republic are welcome to make appointments to apply in person at any IPS office, including Belfast, when present in the UK. The services available in this way are the same-day premium service or the one-week fast track service. Applications by post from British citizens resident in the Irish Republic must be made to the British embassy in Dublin.

Passports

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people applied for UK passports between 2000 and 2004 using a current address in the Irish Republic.

Joan Ryan: The number of passports issued by the British embassy in Dublin was as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total passports issued 
			 2000-01 7,315 
			 2001-02 8,109 
			 2002-03 9,582 
			 2003-04 10,024 
			 2004-05 10,893 
		
	
	In addition an unknown number of British citizens resident in the Irish Republic would, during visits to the UK, have used the Premium or Fast Track services available by applying in person to an Identity and Passport Service office, including Belfast. Records of passport applications are not kept in a way that would enable this number to be ascertained.

Passports

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports has been reported  (a) lost and  (b) stolen in each of the past five years.

Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service processed the following reports of  (a) lost,  (b) theft and  (c) other, of a passport in each of the past five calendar years:
	
		
			   Lost  Stolen  Other( 1)  Total 
			 2001(2)148,230 
			 2002(2)166,358 
			 2003(2)184,301 
			 2004 212,745 50,737 11,558 275,040 
			 2005 230,011 45,709 11,268 286,988 
			 2006(3) 136,765 22,133 6,597 165,495 
			 (1) Includes passports reported as damaged or destroyed.  (2) Combined total.  (3) Current figures.

Passports

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport applications were received in each of the last 12 months.

John Reid: The number of passport applications processed by Identity and Passport Service for the last 12 months are as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Intake 
			 July 2005 624,000 
			 August 2005 503,000 
			 September 2005 429,000 
			 October 2005 356,000 
			 November 2005 405,000 
			 December 2005 283,000 
			 January 2006 542,000 
			 February 2006 586,000 
			 March 2006 725,000 
			 April 2006 607,000 
			 May 2006 735,000 
			 June 2006 704,000 
			 Total 6,499,000

Penalties and Warrants (Enforcement)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average time taken was for enforcement of  (a) community penalties and  (b) warrants, as referred to in the Home Office Departmental Report 2006 in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows.
	 (a) The Home Office Departmental Report 2006 refers to the average time taken from failure to comply with a community penalty to resolution of the case, measured in working days. Data on this have only been centrally collected since October 2005, so it is not possible to provide data for the last five years. In March 2006 (the date referred to in the Home Office Departmental Report 2006), the average time taken was 43 days. This is a new data collection and some early problems are still being resolved.
	 (b) Data on the average time taken to enforce warrants are not held centrally.

Penalty Notices

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) fixed penalty notices and  (b) penalty notices have been issued in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) were piloted in four police forces for 12 months from August 2002 being rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales during 2003-4 financial year, under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Further information on the Penalty Notices for Disorder scheme and information on where data from the pilot can be obtained can be accessed via the following website:
	linkhttp://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr3505.pdf
	Data from the PND database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that, in 2004, there were 63,639 Penalty Notices for Disorder issued and provisional data for 2005 show there were 142,625 Penalty Notices for Disorder issued in that year. Provisional data for 2006 will be available when 2005 data have been published.
	The Office for Criminal Justice Reform also collects information that identifies the number of motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued.
	Available information on motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued can be found within the Home Office publication, 'Offences relating to motor vehicles England and Wales, Supplementary tables' (latest available, 2004). Copies are available in the Library and can also be accessed on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics (RDS) website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	Under the Road Traffic Act 1991, Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) powers allow local authorities to take over responsibility for enforcing parking contraventions from the police. 2003 and 2004 data on penalty charge notices (PCNs) from individual local authorities operating Decriminalised Parking Enforcement can also be found in the above mentioned publication.

People Trafficking

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of offences related to human trafficking in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: Following the commencement of dedicated trafficking offences in 2004 the convictions are as follows:
	
		
			   Conviction 
			 2004 3 
			 2005 23 
			 2006 (To date) 3 
		
	
	Prior to the introduction of this dedicated legislation there was only one conviction for a trafficking offence under the Immigration Act 1971.

Perverting the Course of Justice (Punishments)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the punishments available for those found guilty of  (a) attempting to pervert and  (b) perverting the course of justice.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Perverting the course of justice and attempting to pervert the course of justice are common law offences for which there is no statutory maximum. The full range of penalties is therefore available. Custodial sentences of up to eight years have been imposed in recent cases. Sentences average around eight months.

Police

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been  (a) killed,  (b) sexually assaulted and  (c) physically assaulted while on duty in (i) England, (ii) the North East and (iii) the Tees Valley in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available information is provided in the table. Figures on police assaults are collected by degree of injury which includes death, serious injury and minor or no injury. Figures on those sexually assaulted are not collected centrally.
	Figures are available by police force area only.
	
		
			  Table 1: Assaults on police officers by degree of assault in England (1997-2005) 
			  As at 31 March:  Fatal assaults  Serious assaults  Other assaults  Total 
			 1997 0 872 13,780 14,652 
			 1998 1 815 12,027 12,843 
			 1999 0 311 11,458 11,769 
			 2000 1 290 11,846 12,137 
			 2001 1 326 10,977 (1)11,442 
			 2002 1 393 9,799 (1)11.631 
			 2003 4 253 10,761 (1)12,916 
			 2004 1 231 9,984 (1)11.732 
			 2005(2) 0 216 8,648 (1)10,210 
			 (1) Some forces were unable to provide a breakdown on the degree of assault so have been included in the overall total only (2) In 2005, the Metropolitan police were unable to separate assaults on police officers and police staff and are therefore excluded from the total. As at 31 March 2005, there were 2,614 total assaults on both police officers and police staff. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Assaults on police officers by degree of assault in Cleveland (1997-2005) 
			  As at 31 March:  Fatal assaults  Serious assaults  Other assaults  Total 
			 1997 0 1 103 104 
			 1998 0 1 75 76 
			 1999 0 1 73 74 
			 2000 0 0 13 13 
			 2001 0 0 342 342 
			 2002 0 44 214 258 
			 2003 0 0 59 59 
			 2004 0 0 63 63 
			 2005 0 0 59 59 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Assaults on police officers by degree of assault in Northumbria (1997-2005) 
			  As at 31 March:  Fatal assaults  Serious assaults  Other assaults  Total 
			 1997 0 17 637 654 
			 1998 0 173 325 498 
			 1999 0 29 405 434 
			 2000 0 20 493 513 
			 2001 0 29 501 530 
			 2002 0 37 501 538 
			 2003 0 0 691 691 
			 2004 0 0 37 37 1 
			 2005 0 25 205 230 
			 (1) The force have confirmed that the low figures in 2004 are due to a change in the way in which accidents and assaults were recorded. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Assaults on police officers by degree of assault in Durham (1997-2005) 
			  As at 31 March:  Fatal assaults  Serious assaults  Other assaults  Total 
			 1997 0 4 180 184 
			 1998 0 3 167 170 
			 1999 0 5 245 250 
			 2000 0 3 218 221 
			 2001 0 0 291 291 
			 2002 0 3 301 304 
			 2003 0 1 240 241 
			 2004 0 2 216 218 
			 2005 0 3 132 135

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what average percentage of time police officers spent  (a) on the beat and  (b) on patrol in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what percentage of their time on average police officers spent completing paperwork in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what research his Department has conducted on the amount of time police officers spend  (a) on patrol and  (b) completing paperwork; what the conclusions were; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: The Government introduced a measure in 2003 to record the amount of time that police officers spend on frontline duties in order to help to maximise the time spent on their core roles of preventing and reducing crime. More police officer time was spent on front line duties in 2004-05 (64.1 per cent.) than in 2003-04 (63.6 per cent.) and we are determined to see this improvement continue, with police authorities setting robust targets for improvement. The Home Office expects that the police service can increase this to a national average of around 72 per cent. in 2008. This will be a gain in time on frontline duties equivalent to an extra 12,000 police officers. These frontline duties include providing a visible patrolling presence in communitiesa role which has been greatly enhanced by the creation of Police Community Support Officers, whose core function it is to provide high visibility reassurance policing to local communities, primarily on foot patrol. The Government have also been working with the Association of Chief Police Officers since 2002 to reduce the burden of paperwork. Already we have:
	made nearly 9,000 forms obsolete across all 43 forces;
	nearly 125,000 fixed penalty notice tickets were issued in 2005around 90 minutes saved per ticket;
	207 Livescan Units, which enable electronic fingerprint images to be taken from people instantly, in 37 forces. This saves 7.5 minutes per arrest over ink and roller (5 minutes as opposed to 12.5 minutes);
	the introduction of street bail in 2003 enables an officer to grant bail elsewhere other than a police station, remain on front-line operational duties and better plan the investigation to meet operational needs; and
	the use of designated (police staff) detention officers and investigation officers at police stations to take forward arrest processing and case preparation thereby enabling operational officers to return to front-line duties.

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) regulations and  (b) guidance documents were issued to police forces in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Regulations and guidance relevant to police forces are issued by a variety of Government Departments, statutory bodies (such as Centrex) and non-statutory bodies (such as the Association of Chief Police Officers), and as such the information requested is not held centrally.

Police

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) front line police officers and  (b) police officers there were in (i) Milton Keynes and (ii) England and Wales in each year from 1995 to 2005.

Tony McNulty: The figures requested are given in the following table where possible.
	Numbers of front line officers quoted are based on counts of officers assigned to roles which are defined as front line. These are only available for 2002-03 and later years. To avoid imposing an excessive administrative burden on forces, the Home Office does not request these data at Basic Command Unit (BCD) level, so numbers of front line officers are not available for Milton Keynes specifically. They have instead been provided for the relevant force (Thames Valley). Numbers of officers at BCD level are available only from 2002 onwards, as they were not collected by the Home Office's Research, Data and Statistics Directorate before this time; again, where figures for Milton Keynes specifically are not available they have been provided for Thames Valley. It should be noted that non-front line functions include call-centres, training, custody suites and criminal justice units for the processing of cases.
	
		
			   Milton Keynes( 1)  Thames Valley( 2)  England and Wales( 2) 
			   All officers  All officers  Front line officers  All officers  Front line officers 
			 1994-95 Not available 3,854 Not available 127,222 Not available 
			 1995-96 Not available 3,674 Not available 126,901 Not available 
			 1996-97 Not available 3,695 Not available 127,158 Not available 
			 1997-98 Not available 3,776 Not available 126,814 Not available 
			 1998-99 Not available 3,748 Not available 126,096 Not available 
			 1999-2000 Not available 3,740 Not available 124,170 Not available 
			 2000-01 Not available 3,703 Not available 125,682 Not available 
			 2001-02 342 3,762 Not available 129,603 Not available 
			 2002-03 346 3,833 3398 133,366 115,782 
			 2003-04 371 4,034 3648 139,200 117,877 
			 2004-05 378 4,114 3656 141,230 122,935 
			 (1) FTE strength includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.  (2) FTE strength excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters sent by recorded delivery to the Metropolitan Police have been lost by the police and not replied to in each quarter since January 2001.

Tony McNulty: The information to answer this question can be obtained only at disproportionate cost to the Metropolitan Police Service.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on proposals for merging police forces.

John Reid: Home Department total costs are estimated at up to 1.2 million. We have not made estimates of police authority costs. We are aware authorities/forces may approach the Home Office to meet additional costs incurred in preparing for mergers and we will consider any such approaches.

Police

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the costs which have been incurred arising from the proposed merger of Lancashire and Cumbria police forces.

Tony McNulty: We have not made estimates. We are aware authorities/forces may approach the Home Office to meet the extra costs they have incurred in preparing for mergers and we will consider any such approaches.

Police

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers  (a) per 1,000 population and  (b) per square mile have been employed in (i) rural and (ii) non-rural areas in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The number of police officers is collected per 100,000 population. The available information is given in the table.
	Data regarding the number of police officers per square mile, and in rural and non-rural areas are not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Number of police officers (fte)( 1)  per 100,000 population( 2) , by police force (1997-2006)( 3) 
			   As at 31 March 
			  Police force area  1997( 4)  1998  1999  2000  2001( 5)  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 204 203 203 197 197 205 213 229 225 226 
			 Bedfordshire 200 197 189 185 184 189 198 210 215 213 
			 Cambridgeshire 188 184 179 172 179 187 196 197 194 196 
			 Cheshire 209 208 211 204 204 209 217 224 223 223 
			 Cleveland 261 266 255 252 253 263 294 314 305 308 
			 Cumbria 233 237 229 220 213 224 237 254 257 256 
			 Derbyshire 187 184 182 183 187 189 210 216 213 212 
			 Devon and Cornwall 186 192 186 182 187 192 204 208 212 219 
			 Dorset 189 192 186 189 196 198 205 209 211 216 
			 Durham 240 249 258 256 263 266 281 288 293 288 
			 Essex 197 193 190 183 178 181 186 192 198 203 
			 Gloucestershire 205 198 197 200 209 209 219 229 230 228 
			 Greater Manchester 268 270 265 264 268 279 298 323 321 318 
			 Hampshire 198 199 197 193 193 195 208 211 212 211 
			 Hertfordshire 205 202 198 201 184 174 191 204 206 208 
			 Humberside 230 228 223 219 217 234 244 256 255 251 
			 Kent 210 209 204 203 209 210 221 228 227 227 
			 Lancashire 228 229 228 223 228 231 239 252 251 253 
			 Leicestershire 211 214 215 215 218 224 232 246 246 241 
			 Lincolnshire 196 193 184 179 191 189 191 189 185 183 
			 London, City of(2)   
			 Merseyside 296 297 298 290 291 294 302 303 318 315 
			 Metropolitan police (2) 367 356 352 341 351 366 404 420 433 417 
			 Norfolk 185 184 176 175 178 183 189 190 192 193 
			 Northamptonshire 196 193 186 181 186 194 194 198 201 207 
			 Northumbria 256 263 269 266 272 278 290 294 294 291 
			 North Yorkshire 183 186 181 173 175 188 193 203 206 216 
			 Nottinghamshire 225 225 216 214 214 226 239 245 245 243 
			 South Yorkshire 242 244 243 243 245 246 252 261 260 259 
			 Staffordshire 209 217 211 204 201 201 212 218 220 219 
			 Suffolk 180 179 179 171 168 177 188 196 195 191 
			 Surrey 209 207 212 227 192 184 182 183 184 184 
			 Sussex 211 203 191 188 188 190 203 206 205 207 
			 Thames Valley 180 183 180 178 175 177 186 195 198 202 
			 Warwickshire 186 185 180 178 182 190 198 197 195 198 
			 West Mercia 183 180 180 166 171 176 196 202 203 202 
			 West Midlands 270 271 278 274 283 293 307 311 316 318 
			 West Yorkshire 247 244 236 228 228 230 242 254 271 270 
			 Wiltshire 195 195 192 185 184 189 190 198 198 196 
			 Dyfed Powys 212 210 215 217 219 234 237 236 237 237 
			 Gwent 275 222 224 227 229 239 244 248 259 264 
			 North Wales 208 213 212 213 220 228 234 243 250 242 
			 South Wales 223 242 241 236 250 259 273 275 273 271 
			 Total 43 Forces 241 240 237 233 234 240 254 264 267 267 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be a discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.  (2) Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan police are combined.  (3) Between the years 1997 to 2002 the figures used to calculate the number of officers per 100,000 population excluded those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. From 2003 onwards the figures for police officers include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.  (4) Boundary changes on 1 April 1996 transferred resources from the policing of the Rhmney Valley from South Wales police to Gwent police.  (5) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces.

Police

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of the 1,060 million Gershon efficiency savings to be achieved in the police were to be achieved through force amalgamations; what alternative efficiencies he plans to replace the previously expected savings; and if he will make a statement on progress towards achieving efficiency savings by the police.

Tony McNulty: Achievement of the target of 1,060 million, that applies to the period 2004-05 to 2007-08, was not predicated upon gains from police force restructuring. The Government none the less remain particularly interested in maximising the potential for increased collaboration between forces; exploiting the opportunities for efficiencies in sharing back office functions; and in modernising the work force.

Police

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were involved in road accidents while  (a) on duty and  (b) off-duty in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by force; and how many accidents involved (i) fatalities and (ii) serious injury.

Tony McNulty: The available information is given in the table, a copy of which I will place in the House Library.
	The information provided is based on the number of road traffic collisions on public roads involving police vehicles. Information is not collected centrally on the numbers of on- or off-duty police officers involved in accidents.
	The figures provided in response to this question are based on data collected by the Department on behalf of HMIC. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) annually publish statistics on deaths during or following police contact. However these data use a much wider definition of road traffic collisions than that collected by HMIC.

Police

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in Brent in each year since 1997, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) ethnicity.

Tony McNulty: At 31 March 2003 there were 619 full-time equivalent police officers in Brent, 683 at 31 March 2004 and 679 at 31 March 2005. Corresponding information for 31 March 2006 will be published later in the year.
	Data about the numbers of police officers in each Basic Command Unit (BCU) have only been collected since 2002 and these figures cannot be broken down any further by sex or ethnicity.

Police

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cars were in use in the London borough of Brent in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Police

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which  (a) local authorities and  (b) local authority wards comprise each Basic Command Unit in England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the table, a copy of which will be placed in the Library.

Police

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are seconded overseas, broken down by  (a) country,  (b) length of secondment and  (c) force from which seconded.

Tony McNulty: From 1 January 2006 to 24 July 2006, the Home Office issued 365 authorisations under section 26 of the Police Act 1996 to police officers from forces in England and Wales in respect of travel overseas to provide assistance to an international organisation or other body engaged outside the UK in policing activities. The majority of these authorisations were in respect of short-term assistance, on a wide range of matters and to numerous countries. Longer term deployments are mostly in the form of support to international Peace Support Operations (PSOs), and last up to a year. On 24 July 2006 the United Kingdom had 140 serving police officers working in Peace Support Operations in Bosnia (11); Kosovo (58); Iraq (21); Jordan (47); Sudan (2) and Afghanistan (1). Of these 140 police officers, 67 are from forces in England and Wales. Those forces are: Avon and Somerset; Cheshire; Cleveland; Cumbria; Devon and Cornwall; Durham; Dyfed Powys; Essex; Greater Manchester; Hertfordshire; Humberside; Kent; Lancashire; Lincolnshire; Metropolitan; Merseyside; Norfolk; Northumbria; North Wales; Nottinghamshire; South Yorkshire; Surrey; Sussex; Staffordshire; Thames Valley; West Mercia; West Yorkshire and Wiltshire. The other serving officers on PSOs are from the Ministry of Defence Police, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Scottish police forces. 10 other longer term deployments have been authorised since 1 January 2006 for officers from forces in England and Wales. All last for a year or more. Three authorisations were in respect of assistance to Trinidad and Tobago by officers from Wiltshire and Cambridgeshire. In respect of the remaining seven authorisations, there are sensitivities which mean I am unable to reveal further details of their deployment.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section 54 of the Police Act 1996; and what recent representations he has received about the operation of this  (a) section and  (b) Act.

Tony McNulty: HM inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC) provides an independent oversight of policing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Government intend building on the current expertise and commitment offered under existing inspection arrangements, by creating a new Inspectorate for Justice, Community Safety and Custody. A synopsis of responses on the proposals can be viewed at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/InspectionReformPolicyState1.pdf?version=1
	Details of representations on the operation of the Police Act 1996 are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Police

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the time it takes for a police officer to complete the paperwork when stopping minors caught drinking in the street; and which forms are required.

Tony McNulty: It is a matter for individual police officers to determine the appropriate course of action when dealing with minors caught drinking alcohol in the street or other public place. Research undertaken by the Home Office indicates that stops take on average five minutes or less to record. Records are not held centrally on the average amount of time it takes to complete other locally prescribed forms which might be required in such circumstances.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the police budget was spent on front-line policing in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Analysis of costs relating to front line policing is not available.

Police

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to appoint the transitional authority for the Cumbria and Lancashire Police Authorities.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 5 July 2006
	I met the Chief Constables and Police Authority Chairs from Cumbria and Lancashire on 10 July. I explained to them that it had not been possible to resolve all of the issues surrounding the proposed merger in a way that would be satisfactory to them and they therefore do not wish to proceed with their voluntary merger. As a result no combined police authority for Cumbria and Lancashire will be established.

Police

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to reimburse police authorities and police forces for the resources spent on those police mergers which will not take place.

Tony McNulty: We are aware that a number of police force and police authorities have incurred costs in preparing for police force mergers.
	We have written to police forces to say that requests for reimbursement of additional costs incurred will be considered.

Police

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on  (a) administration,  (b) legal fees,  (c) special advisers and  (d) other costs on the police force restructuring consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Between September 2005 and July 2006, the Home Office has spent approximately 400,000 on staff costs (representing a team of permanent, temporary and seconded staff averaging 10 people during this period) and approximately 20,000 on legal costs. Expenditure on consultancy for assessing and refining the police structures business cases is expected to be up to approximately 800,000. Other Home Office officials and special advisers have made contributions to work on police restructuring as part of routine business and the costs could not be identified separately.

Police

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers  (a) retired and  (b) retired on the grounds of ill health, broken down by type of ill health, in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent( 1)  police officer medical and ordinary retirements in England and Wales (1997-2005) 
			  As at 31 March  Medical retirement  Ordinary retirement 
			 1997 2,012 2,466 
			 1998 1,811 2,960 
			 1999 1,642 2,562 
			 2000 1,232 2,732 
			 2001 1,209 2,645 
			 2002 1,114 3,001 
			 2003(2) 819 1,983 
			 2004 418 2,650 
			 2005 405 3,464 
			 (1) Prior to 2003, FTE figures excluded those on career breaks.  (2) Figures for 2003 are not comparable with other years, as not all of the 43 forces were able to provide complete data.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new generation Airwave radios; which police forces are using them; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Airwave provides modern, integrated, secure and efficient radio communications for the police service.
	The Airwave service had to pass a rigorous series of tests before being accepted by a force as being ready for service.
	The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) continually evaluates the performance of Airwave through a national service support structure, managing any arising issues jointly with the service provider, O2 Airwave.
	Police communications at special events, such as the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005, have been facilitated by the adoption of a common technology and since the service first started rolling out in 2001 new features such GPS location sensing and direct access to the police national computer have become available to benefit the safety and effectiveness of individual police officers. The use of Airwave radios has meant improved coverage and clarity compared to the old analogue radios.
	The decisions of the ambulance and fire services to move to Airwave will enhance the capabilities of all three emergency services to work together, both on a day-to-day basis and during major incidents.
	As part of its operational benefits strategy, PITO is in the process of carrying out baseline reviews using several forces in order to gauge the benefits that Airwave has brought to police users.
	Currently over 160,000 police officers are using Airwave and 50 forces have fully migrated to the new service. The remaining forces, the Metropolitan police and North Wales, are in the process of migration and will have fully migrated by the summer of 2007.

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in contravention of their curfew notices have been removed to their place of residence by  (a) community support officers and  (b) police officers under paragraph 4B of Schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 in each of the last four years, broken down by police authority.

John Reid: No curfew notices have been issued under this power as no local child curfew scheme has been established. However other powers have been introduced and used. My answer on 5 December 2005,  Official Report, column 968W explained that section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 provides the police with a power to disperse groups and remove under-16s to their place of residence, within designated areas. The Act also inserted paragraph 4A into Schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 to allow designated community support officers to use these powers. These powers came into force on 20 January 2004. From a Home Office data collection exercise, we estimated that 809 areas were designated between January 2004 and June 2005. Police officers and community support officer dispersed 14,375 people from the 293 areas where data were available. They also removed 520 young people under 16 to their place of residence from 236 areas where data were available. We do not hold the information on whether these powers were exercised by police officers or community support officers.

Police

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations have closed in  (a) non-rural and  (b) rural areas in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Details of police station openings and closures, where provided by the forces, have been as in the table.
	
		
			  Police Stations opened or closed since 1996-97 
			   English Shire Authorities  English Metropolitan Authorities  London Authorities  Welsh Authorities 
			  1996-97 
			 Opened 15 0 n/a 4 
			 Closed -39 -3 n/a -22 
			  
			  1997-98 
			 Opened 15 3 n/a 5 
			 Closed -50 -10 n/a -3 
			  
			  1998-99 
			 Opened 30 0 n/a 5 
			 Closed -49 -9 n/a -5 
			  
			  1999-2000 
			 Opened 13 0 n/a 1 
			 Closed -84 -8 n/a -17 
			  2000-01 
			 Opened 27 5 n/a 1 
			 Closed -43 -9 n/a -13 
			  
			  2001-02 
			 Opened 24 6 n/a 6 
			 Closed -26 -9 n/a -5 
			  
			  2002-03 
			 Opened 27 2 0 6 
			 Closed -25 -5 -2 -13 
			  
			  2003-04 
			 Opened 24 5 3 4 
			 Closed -29 -10 -3 -2 
			  
			  2004-05 
			 Opened 44 15 0 3 
			 Closed -39 -18 -1 -2 
			  Notes:  1. Reliable data unavailable before 1996-97.  2. Returns are available from all forces only from 2003-04. Data relate to returns actually received.   Source:  Police forces in England and Wales.

Police

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations there were per 1,000 population in  (a) non-rural and  (b) rural areas in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information, where details of police stations have been provided by forces, is given in the table.
	
		
			  Police Stations Per 1,000 Population 
			   English Shire Authorities  English Metropolitan Authorities  London Authorities  All English Authorities  Welsh Authorities 
			 1996-97 0.041 0.042 n/a 0.041 0.108 
			 1997-98 0.039 0.041 n/a 0.039 0.107 
			 1998-99 0.038 0.039 n/a 0.038 0.105 
			 1999-2000 0.036 0.031 n/a 0.035 0.097 
			 2000-01 0.035 0.031 n/a 0.034 0.093 
			 2001-02 0.035 0.030 0.020 0.032 0.093 
			 2002-03 0.035 0.028 0.019 0.031 0.090 
			 2003-04 0.034 0.027 0.019 0.031 0.090 
			 2004-05 0.035 0.027 0.018 0.030 0.090 
			  Notes:  1. Population figures for 2005 have not yet been published. 2004 population figures are used for 2004-05. 2. Population figures are based on force boundaries in 2004. 3. Between 1996-97 and 1998-99 there were returns from three of the six English Metropolitan Authorities (Greater Manchester, Merseyside and South Yorkshire). Between 1999-2000 and 2001-02 there were returns from five English Metropolitan Authorities (Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Northumbria, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire). 4. Returns were only available from all authorities from 2002-03.  Source: Population figuresOffice for National Statistics.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations are operational in each police force; and how many were operational in each force in  (a) 1990 and  (b) 1997.

John Reid: The available information is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Total number of police stations in each force 
			   As at March: 
			   1992  1997 ( 3) 2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 82 35 43 
			 Bedfordshire   13 
			 Cambridgeshire 31 29 23 
			 Cheshire 31 28 18 
			 City of London 2 2 2 
			 Cleveland   23 
			 Cumbria 24 34 26 
			 Derbyshire 25 25 24 
			 Devon and Cornwall   61 
			 Dorset 27 27 24 
			 Durham 40 40 36 
			 Dyfed-Powys 45 44 54 
			 Essex 115 115 58 
			 Gloucestershire 68 62 39 
			 Greater Manchester 96 82 66 
			 Gwent (1)  9 49 
			 Hampshire 51 54 49 
			 Hertfordshire 55 23 25 
			 Humberside 38 35 41 
			 Kent 46 32 31 
			 Lancashire 111 102 77 
			 Leicestershire 26 28 29 
			 Lincolnshire 46 43 37 
			 Metropolitan   134 
			 Merseyside 53 52 43 
			 Norfolk   37 
			 Northamptonshire 11 12 11 
			 Northumbria   36 
			 North Wales   49 
			 North Yorkshire 98 28 25 
			 Nottinghamshire 62 64 46 
			 South Wales(1) 163 138 114 
			 South Yorkshire 88 84 70 
			 Staffordshire 39 39 37 
			 Suffolk 50 27 28 
			 Surrey 32 30 32 
			 Sussex 33 29 33 
			 Thames Valley 50 53 63 
			 Warwickshire 17 15 12 
			 West Mercia 85 57 59 
			 West Midlands   46 
			 West Yorkshire   41 
			 Wiltshire 42 28 27 
			 Total (2) n/a n/a 1,791 
			 (1) In 1996-97 South Wales police transferred nine police stations to Gwent. The nine stations have been included for Gwent for 1996-97, but the force made no fuller report for the year. (2) Because several forces did not make returns in 1992 and 1997, direct comparison of totals with 2005 would be inappropriate. (3 )Latest figures.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the number of  (a) bicycles,  (b) patrol cars and  (c) motorcycles available to police forces in England and Wales.

John Reid: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average fuel efficiency of the England and Wales police fleet; and what plans he has to improve fuel efficiency.

John Reid: Information on the fuel efficiency of police vehicles is not collected centrally. Police forces in England and Wales are expected to have a strategy for the management of their vehicle fleets. Each year HM Inspectorate of Constabulary assesses the contribution of that strategy to operational policing performance and the accountability of the fleet management for resource use and performance. Increased efficiency in fleet management, including increased fuel efficiency, will contribute to forces meeting their overall efficiency target.

Police

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget of North Yorkshire police was in each of the last 20 years  (a) in cash terms and  (b) at current prices.

Tony McNulty: The available information is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Budgets for North Yorkshire 
			   Budget requirement  Change in cash terms  Change in real terms 
			   000  000  Percentage  Percentage 
			 1996-97 69,374 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997/98 71,594 2,220 3.2 0.3 
			 1998-99 74,363 2,769 3.9 1.3 
			 1999-2000 78,044 3,681 5.0 2.9 
			 2000-01 81,000 2,956 3.8 2.3 
			 2001-02 85,860 4,860 6.0 3.5 
			 2002-03 93,142 7,282 8.5 5.2 
			 2003-04 114,280 21,138 22.7 19.2 
			 2004-05 122,000 7,720 6.8 3.9 
			 2005-06 126,165 4,165 3.4 1.3 
			 2005-06(1) 119,084 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 122,894 3,810 3.2 0.7 
			 (1) Adjusted for comparison following the transfer of pensions and security funding from general grant in 2006-07.   Notes: Information prior to 1996-07 is not readily available Real terms at 2004-05 prices using GDP deflator at 30.06.06

Police

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers,  (b) community support officers and  (c) other police support staff there were in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) City of York in each of the last 20 years.

Tony McNulty: The available information is given in the tables.
	
		
			  Total Strength( 1)  for Police Officers, Civilian/Police Staff( 2)  and Police Community Support Officers in North Yorkshire, 1986-2006( 3) 
			   Police Officers  Civilians/Police Staff  Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)( 4) 
			 31 March 1986 1,361 335  
			 31 March 1987 1,353 330  
			 31 March 1988 1,372 358  
			 1 March 1989 1,370 421  
			 31 Mar 1990 1,379 433  
			 31 March 1991 1,387 449  
			 31 March 1992 1,398 445  
			 31 March 1993 1,393 453  
			 31 March 1994 1,318 438  
			 31 March 1995 1,300 508  
			 1 March 1996 1,324 520  
			 31 March 1997 1,338 519  
			 31 March 1998 1,367 543  
			 31 March 1999 1,337 541  
			 31 March 2000 1,283 492  
			 31 March 2001 1,305 591  
			 31 March 2002 1,417 743  
			 31 March 2003 1,444 723 0 
			 31 March 2004 1,529 864 52 
			 31 March 2005 1,543 930 75 
			 31 March 2006 1,636 1,030 71 
			 (1) Total strength is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between these totals and the totals in other tables. Between 1986-1995 the full-time equivalent figures were based on estimations. Figures exclude those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave unless otherwise stated.  (2 )Civilian Staff have been referred to as Police Staff since March 2003. Figures exclude Traffic Wardens, Police Community Support Officers and Designated Officers (s.38).  (3) Strength Figures for Civilian Staff were collected by HMIC from 1986 until 1995. The Research Development and Statistics Section within the Home Office, have been collecting and publishing these data since March 1996.  (4) Figures for PCSOs have been collected only since 2003 and include those on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave. 
		
	
	
		
			  Total Strength( 1)  for Police Officers in North Yorkshire Central Basic Command Unit, 2002-05 
			  As at 31 March:  Police Officers 
			 2002 399 
			 2003 409 
			 2004 422 
			 2005 410 
			 (1) Total strength is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between these totals and the sums of the constituent items. Figures include those officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.

Police

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) violent crimes and  (b) crimes there were in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) City of York in each of the last 20 years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the following tables. York is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area and data at CDRP level have only been collected centrally since 1999-2000. Since 1986, there have been two major changes to the way in which crime is recorded. The effect of the extended coverage and the change in counting rules in 1998 was to artificially increase recorded violent crime nationally by more than 80 per cent. while it is estimated that the effect of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 caused a further 20 per cent. increase in recorded violent crime in its first year.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded crime in North Yorkshire1986-97 
			   Number of offences 
			   Total crime  Violent crime 
			 1986 35,968 1,542 
			 1987 37,494 1,713 
			 1988 34,686 1,858 
			 1989 35,774 2,114 
			 1990 46,252 2,403 
			 1991 51,471 2,479 
			 1992 54,816 2,276 
			 1993 57,967 2,382 
			 1994 62,153 2,532 
			 1995 63,539 2,547 
			 1996 56,919 2,821 
			 1997 50,252 2,885 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded crime in North Yorkshire1998-992001-02 
			   Number of offences 
			   Total crime  Violent crime 
			 1998-99 55,309 5,294 
			 1999-2000 53,554 5,607 
			 2000-01 51,551 5,373 
			 2001-02 59,125 6,261 
			  Note:  Expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules came into effect on 1 April 1998. The figures in this table are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Recorded crime in North Yorkshire2002-032005-06 
			   Number of offences 
			   Total crime  Violent crime 
			 2002-03 67,239 8,912 
			 2003-04 71,473 10,507 
			 2004-05 61,864 12,960 
			 2005-06 59,069 12,369 
			  Note:  The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Recorded crime in the York Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area1999-20002005-06 
			   Number of offences 
			   Total crime  Violent crime 
			 1999-2000 n/a 1,812 
			 2000-01 19,291 1,633 
			 2001-02 22,890 1,889 
			 2002-03 25,630 2,878 
			 2003-04 29,347 3,812 
			 2004-05 23,164 4,350 
			 2005-06 22,846 4,112 
			 n/a = not available.   Note:  The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Port Security

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1676W, on port security, which ports are in each of the categories referred to.

John Reid: This information cannot be disclosed as this could provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent immigration controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of immigration offences.

Pre-comprehensive Spending Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with  (a) the Treasury and  (b) the Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Home Office Ministers have had and will continue to have wide-ranging and regular discussions with the Treasury Ministers about preparations for the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Pre-Sentencing Reports

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the national standards are for writing pre-sentencing reports; what assessment he has made of the extent to which those national standards are complied with in each probation area; what measures are in place to monitor standards; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Where a court requests a report from the National Probation Service prior to sentencing, an appropriate assessment will be made of the offender's risk of harm and the likelihood of re-offending, in order to inform the court of a clear and realistic proposal for sentence or remand.
	National standards for the Probation Service are published in the document National Standards 2005 copies of which can be obtained in the Library and at the following website address: http://www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk/output/page32.asp#GuideWwO
	The national standards specific to pre sentence reports are SS2.5 to SS2.13. To monitor each standard routinely would incur disproportionate costs. SS2.12Reports will be prepared within the time scale set by the commissioning court is monitored and the results for each area can be found in the following. In England and Wales in 2005-06, this standard was met in 97 per cent. of cases. The target is 90 per cent.
	Timeliness of court reports July 2005 to March 2006
	
		
			  Probation area  Total provided  Number provided on time  Performance against court's time scale (percentage) 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,433 3,349 98 
			 Bedfordshire 1,098 1,090 99 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,612 1,584 98 
			 Cheshire 2,481 2,444 99 
			 Cumbria 1,529 1,492 98 
			 Derbyshire 3,007 2,977 99 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,138 2,926 93 
			 Dorset 1,365 1,306 96 
			 County Durham 2,205 2,108 96 
			 Dyfed/Powys 1,280 1,248 98 
			 Essex 3,485 3,475 100 
			 Gloucestershire 1,201 1,138 95 
			 Greater Manchester 10,037 9,842 98 
			 Gwent 1,491 1,428 96 
			 Hampshire 4,049 3,921 97 
			 Hertfordshire 2,104 2,007 95 
			 Humberside 2,810 2,756 98 
			 Kent 2,797 2,729 98 
			 Lancashire 4,730 4,585 97 
			 Leicestershire and Rutland 3,075 3,028 98 
			 Lincolnshire 1,534 1,530 100 
			 London 15,043 14,594 97 
			 Merseyside 3,695 3,559 96 
			 Norfolk 1,839 1,751 95 
			 North Wales 1,680 1,601 95 
			 North Yorkshire 1,763 1,755 100 
			 Northamptonshire 1,141 1,110 97 
			 Northumbria 4,355 4,240 97 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,569 4,486 98 
			 South Wales 4,992 4,848 97 
			 South Yorkshire 4,461 4,371 98 
			 Staffordshire 2,815 2,734 97 
			 Suffolk 1,079 1,060 98 
			 Surrey 1,471 1,439 98 
			 Sussex 2,673 2,633 99 
			 Teesside 2,411 2,306 96 
			 Thames Valley 2,285 2,198 96 
			 Warwickshire 1,127 1,094 97 
			 West Mercia 1,814 1,659 91 
			 West Midlands 10,654 10,398 98 
			 West Yorkshire 6,702 6,598 98 
			 Wiltshire 1,241 1,178 95 
			 England and Wales 136,271 132,575 97

Press Complaints

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since 1 April 2003 he has complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the coverage in the press of  (a) Ministers or officials and  (b) his Department; and how many of these complaints were upheld.

Tony McNulty: In the period specified, neither the present Home Secretary, nor either of his predecessors, have complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the coverage in the press of Ministers or officials individually, or the Home Office generally.

Preventing Extremism Working Groups

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the recommendations of the Preventing Extremism Together working groups set up in response to the London bombings in July 2005 have been implemented; and what proportion this represents of the number of recommendations.

Meg Munn: holding answer 19 May 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	Responsibility for leading on this area of work is now with the Department for Communities and Local Government. On 17 July 2006, the Department published on its website details of progress made on the recommendations from the Preventing Extremism Together working groups. Further details can be found at:
	http://raceandfaith.communities.gov.uk/raceandfaith/faith/faith-communities/?version=1

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the confidence of prison service staff in governors at each prison establishment; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The 2005 Prison Service staff survey did not contain a specific question about confidence in governors. However, the percentage of respondents who agreed that their senior management team provides effective leadership in each establishment is provided as follows.
	
		
			  Extract from the public sector Prison Service in England and Wales 2006 staff survey showing the percentage of respondents who agree that senior management provide effective leadership 
			  Establishment polled  Number of questionnaires returned  Percentage response rate  Percentage respondents in agreement that senior management team provides effective leadership 
			 Prison Service average 18,704 39 44 
			 Acklington 111 27 24 
			 Albany 116 36 48 
			 Ashwell 144 50 39 
			 Askham Grange 46 50 48 
			 Aylesbury 176 52 47 
			 Bedford 130 51 61 
			 Belmarsh 185 21 22 
			 Birmingham 164 20 38 
			 Blakenhurst 146 31 59 
			 Blantyre House 25 34 60 
			 Blundeston 110 38 34 
			 Brinsford 160 40 46 
			 Bristol 139 30 32 
			 Brixton 149 37 45 
			 Brockhill 55 31 46 
			 Buckley Hall 107 46 35 
			 Bullingdon 145 32 45 
			 Bullwood Hall 59 34 41 
			 Camp Hill 80 28 51 
			 Canterbury 86 41 44 
			 Cardiff 189 40 48 
			 Castington 112 29 61 
			 Channings Wood 131 37 36 
			 Chelmsford 163 45 34 
			 Coldingley 70 34 43 
			 Cookham Wood 52 34 57 
			 Dartmoor 147 39 36 
			 Deerbolt 110 33 47 
			 Dorchester 96 52 64 
			 Dover 64 26 44 
			 Downview 90 38 42 
			 Drake Hall 43 22 37 
			 Durham 175 31 38 
			 East Sutton Park 33 50 39 
			 Eastwood Park 73 27 38 
			 Edmunds Hill 90 38 69 
			 Elmley 97 21 47 
			 Erlestoke 98 41 24 
			 Everthorpe 200 57 51 
			 Exeter 91 25 29 
			 Featherstone 104 33 35 
			 Feltham 193 24 54 
			 Ford 61 33 37 
			 Foston Hall 80 34 50 
			 Frankland 366 40 47 
			 Full Sutton 130 17 32 
			 Garth 205 48 50 
			 Gartree 112 31 27 
			 Glen Parva 108 21 65 
			 Gloucester 90 40 58 
			 Grendon 122 36 46 
			 Guys Marsh 153 51 45 
			 Haslar 53 41 59 
			 Haverigg 122 37 31 
			 Hewell Grange 46 46 58 
			 High Down 192 44 43 
			 Highpoint 97 23 40 
			 Hindley 152 36 44 
			 Hollesley Bay 41 33 39 
			 Holloway 322 57 57 
			 Holme House 148 28 42 
			 Hull 180 32 37 
			 Huntercombe 139 46 48 
			 Kingston 87 62 61 
			 Kirkham 122 46 61 
			 Kirklevington Grange 30 26 20 
			 Lancaster 90 51 48 
			 Lancaster Farms 157 39 34 
			 Latchmere House 40 50 33 
			 Leeds 255 39 32 
			 Leicester 89 36 48 
			 Lewes 102 33 37 
			 Leyhill 111 48 47 
			 Lincoln 167 43 26 
			 Lindholme 177 35 46 
			 Littlehey 112 35 43 
			 Liverpool 153 21 31 
			 Long Lartin 154 24 49 
			 Low Newton 50 17 42 
			 Maidstone 63 20 41 
			 Manchester 257 31 65 
			 Moorland 197 33 34 
			 Morton Hall 103 45 50 
			 New Hall 169 41 36 
			 North Sea Camp 52 36 33 
			 Northallerton 60 41 37 
			 Norwich 137 31 31 
			 Nottingham 115 28 38 
			 Onley 126 31 38 
			 Parkhurst 176 47 37 
			 Pentonville 212 32 32 
			 Portland 110 29 31 
			 Preston 144 34 45 
			 Ranby 137 24 40 
			 Reading 95 45 42 
			 Risley 170 35 37 
			 Rochester 121 41 52 
			 Send 102 62 68 
			 Shepton Mallet 46 32 39 
			 Shrewsbury 108 51 49 
			 Stafford 159 42 34 
			 Standford Hill 68 26 38 
			 Stocken 186J 59 33 
			 Stoke Heath 232 50 45 
			 Styal 93 25 37 
			 Sudbury 113 53 55 
			 Swaleside 172 42 45 
			 Swansea 154 52 34 
			 Swinfen Hall 146 34 61 
			 The Mount 87 27 55 
			 The Verne 103 36 22 
			 Thorn Cross 49 22 45 
			 Usk/Prescoed 104 42 56 
			 Wakefield 173 26 37 
			 Wandsworth 204 29 51 
			 Warren Hill 61 22 60 
			 Wayland 102 33 73 
			 Wealstun 180 43 49 
			 Weare 15 44 33 
			 Wellinborough 185 51 38 
			 Wellington 33 18 39 
			 Wetherby 133 43 48 
			 Whatton 122 43 51 
			 Whitemoor 190 25 26 
			 Winchester 177 44 44 
			 Woodhill 192 28 28 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 164 26 49 
			 Wymott 114 22 40

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place to deal with national industrial action by prison officers; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Officers' Association (POA) has signed the Joint Industrial Relations Agreement, which provides an undertaking that neither it nor its members will induce industrial action. If the POA breach the JIRA, the Home Secretary may seek injunctive relief against it. If the POA gives notice to terminate the agreement with no alternative arrangements being in place, the Secretary of State would ask Parliament to reintroduce statutory constraints such as existed prior to disapplication of Section 127.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the last time was that a member of the Prison Service Management Board met representatives of the police to consider contingency plans to prepare for national industrial action by prison officers; and if he will publish the minutes of that meeting.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The Deputy Director General met police representatives on 25 May 2004 to discuss contingency planning. The Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has overall responsibility for contingency planning across the prison estate. Senior prison service officials take the operational lead on behalf of NOMS and regularly meet police representatives to consider contingency plans. These plans are restricted documents.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the review of the Prison Service Professional Standards and Code of Discipline to be completed; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The review of PSO 8460, Staff Conduct and Discipline, which includes the Professional Standards statement, is ongoing. I expect a revised policy to be issued to staff later this year, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of discussions with trades unions. A copy of the revised policy will be placed in the Library when the review has been completed.

Prison Service

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total number of sick days was taken by Prison Service staff in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of working days lost due to sickness absence in the Public Sector Prison Service is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Working days lost due to sickness absence 
			   Working days lost( 1) 
			 2005-06 589,471 
			 2004-05 616,367 
			 2003-04 628,623 
			 2002-03 668,337 
			 2001-02(2) 614,150 
			 (1) Information derived from Personnel Corporate Database.  (2) The 2004 NAO report on sickness absence in the Prison Service estimated that sickness absence was under-reported by up to 26 per cent. in 1997-98. Under-reporting fell to negligible levels by 2002-03, therefore data for 2001-02 will be under-recorded. 
		
	
	Information for the contracted estate over the past five years is not readily available within the time scales required and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which inmates are permitted to hold private cash in prison service accounts; what the maximum amount is that can be held by an inmate in such accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prison rules permit all prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons to hold private cash in prison service accounts. There is no limit on the amount of private cash that can be held by a prisoner. The amount a prisoner is allowed access to on a weekly basis is determined by their status under the incentives and earned privileges scheme.

Prison Service

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed by  (a) the Prison Service and  (b) the immigration and nationality directorate; and how many were employed in each case in May 1997.

Liam Byrne: The number of people employed by the Prison Service and the immigration and nationality directorate, for the dates requested, is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   IND( 1, 2)  Prison Service( 3) 
			 Staff employed at 31 March 1997 5,697 17,213 
			 Staff(4 )employed at 31 March 2006 37,704 47,282 
			 (1) The headcount figure is the only figure available for 1997.  (2) The figure for 1997 for IND is for permanent employees only and that for 2006 includes permanent employees and non-permanent temporary agency staff.  (3) Prison Service figures are as published in civil service statistics for 1997 and as submitted to National Statistics for 2006.1997 figures exclude staff on maternity leave and on reduced or nil pay as a result of long-term sickness. Only staff on nil pay have been excluded from the 2006 figures. Both figures are on a full-time equivalent basis and do not include agency staff or contractors.  (4) Full-time equivalent figures have been used, unless otherwise stated.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms exist to ensure that members of the Prison Service Standards Audit Unit are independent of other parts of the Prison Service; what steps have been taken by the Prison Service's Director of Operations to ensure that standards audits in prison establishments are objective and free from bias; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Audit and Corporate Assurance does not report to the Director of Operations but, for day-to-day purposes, reports to the Director of Finance. On audit matters it reports to the Audit Committee and the Director General. The Audit Committee is chaired by Lord Rosser, non-executive Director, and comprises three further independent members and three executive members.
	The work of Standards Audit Unit is subject to an internal peer review carried out by professionally qualified Internal Auditors. The system for carrying out standards audits in establishments is also audited by Internal Audit. The results of the internal peer review and Internal Audits of the standards audit are reported to the Audit Committee.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the role is of the Prison Service Area Professional Standards Managers in viewing information from  (a) staff mobile telephones,  (b) prisoner mobile telephones and  (c) staff computers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what level of authority is required to view information from unauthorised  (a) prisoner and  (b) prison staff mobile telephones that are seized during security searches; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  on how many occasions in the last 12 months the covert viewing of prison staff computers has been carried out; what the reasons were in each case; who was responsible for authorising the activity in each case; what disciplinary action was progressed in consequence of information discovered as a result of such viewing; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what level of authorisation is required for covert viewing of information from prison staff computers; what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the current practice in the Prison Service for the covert viewing of staff computers with the requirements of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 25 July 2006
	Computer use within the Prison Service is subject to routine scrutiny and monitoring. All staff are required to read and be aware of the information technology security policy. Monitoring is overt and not subject to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
	At establishment level, Governors approve requests for information about the use of computers by staff. At Area Offices requests are made by Area Managers and at headquarters by Heads of Group. Requests are checked and submitted for action by the Professional Standards Unit, which will view any information produced to identify whether there has been inappropriate use.
	There have been 191 occasions during the past 12 months when examination of potential inappropriate use of staff computers has taken place for a range of management or possible corruption issues. Proceedings will be taken against individuals where there is sufficient evidence to support this. It is not possible to provide the results of each examination, as results are not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Mobile telephones are not allowed in prison establishments and their use is prohibited for both prisoners and staff, unless a member of staff has a specific exemption from the Governor. A member of staff's telephone would be subject to interrogation only if brought into the prison in breach of the rules. Statutory Instrument 1878 of 2006, The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Communications Data) (Additional Functions and Amendment) Order 2006 which came into force on 26 July 2006, sets the level of authority for examining mobile telephones in prisons as senior operational manager.
	Area Professional Standards Managers are able to view mobile phone information if during the course of intelligence gathering or investigations it is considered necessary and proportionate to do so and the requirements of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998 are fully met.

Prison Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners escaped  (a) while at court and  (b) while in transit between court and prison in each of the last five years.

John Reid: Details of the number of prisoners that escaped while at court and while in transit between court and prison are set out in the following table. The total number of escapes in a year has reduced by 65 per cent. between 2001-02 and 2005-06.
	
		
			   Court  In transit  Total 
			 2001-02 38 2 40 
			 2002-03 27 4 31 
			 2003-04 27 5 32 
			 2004-05 26 1 27 
			 2005-06 12 2 14

Prison Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners appearing at court arrived  (a) operationally on time and  (b) in time for the hearing in each of the last five years.

John Reid: Details of the percentage of prisoners arriving at court operationally on time are set out in the following table.
	Figures are not available on the number of prisoners arriving in time for their hearings. Current escort contracts require that contractors report occasions when late arrival delays court business. Information from the escort contractors shows that between September 2004 and March 2005, 99.97 per cent. of prisoners were available for their court appearance as scheduled. The corresponding figure for 2005-06 is 99.92 per cent.
	
		
			   Percentage of prisoners arriving on time 
			 2001-02 75 
			 2002-03 76 
			 2003-04 82 
			 2004-05(1) 85 
			 2004-05 76 
			 2005-06 82 
			 (1 )New escort contracts commenced on 29 August 2004, when the criteria for determining the timely arrival of prisoners to courts changed.

Prison Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of people convicted of further offences committed before the period of their prison sentence had expired were ordered to return to prison to serve the outstanding sentence in full in each of the last eight years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether each prisoner held by the prison department has a file; whether the filing system is computerised; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Core prisoner information is held electronically on the Inmate Information System. Prisoner paper files consist of a number of parts each serving a specific purpose, for example, a security file and an Inmate Medical Record.

Prison Service

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are on licence from prisons in England and Wales.

Gerry Sutcliffe: At 31 December 2005 there were 25,271 people being supervised on licence by the Probation Service following their release from prison.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Prison Service

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what IT offender assessment systems are used in private prisons; whether these are compatible with the OASys used by the prison and probation services; and whether private prisons will have access to the National Offender Management Information Systems.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Some of the private prisons are already using the HM Prison Service Offender Assessment System (OASys) IT system to record offender assessments.
	National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the contracted out prisons are working towards full use of the HMPS OASys IT system by all the private prisons and hope to achieve this before the end of the year.
	Since May this year there has been full connectivity between HMPS and National Probation Service OASys systems enabling electronic transfer of all OASys offender assessments, regardless of whether they originate from public or private prisons or the probation service.
	It is planned that private prisons will have full access to the C-NOMIS system, which is the replacement for the current Prison Service and probation service casework management systems.

Prison Service

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prisoners and  (b) other detainees have been diagnosed with HIV since 1997; and what guidance his Department has issued to prison medical officers on delivering high standard healthcare to patients.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information about the number of prisoners and detainees with HIV is not collected centrally. Standards of health care in the publicly-run prisons are a matter for primary care trusts, which now have overall responsibility for commissioning these services. All services commissioned by the national health service, including prison health care, should comply with the Department of Health document, Standards for Better Health, a copy of which is available in the Library and on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/66/66/04086666.pdf

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the availability of contraband at HMP Parkhurst; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A number of measures are in place at Parkhurst to combat prisoner access to illicit items. These include searches of the perimeter, and of staff and visitors entering the prison, supported by passive dogs trained to detect drugs, the use of active drug dogs to search internal and external areas and CCTV in the visits area. Incoming mail is subject to close scrutiny.
	Routine and targeted cell searches take place. Intelligence led and random strip searches of prisoners take place after visits. Prisoners leaving work areas are searched. Mandatory and voluntary drug testing of prisoners takes place.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend CCTV coverage at HMP Full Sutton; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are currently no plans to extend CCTV coverage at HMP Full Sutton.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of transfers between prison establishments was due to  (a) re-categorisation,  (b) overcrowding,  (c) resettlement and  (d) other reasons in 2004-05.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of Independent Monitoring Board members at each prison are  (a) under 30 years of age,  (b) between 30 and 40 years of age,  (c) between 40 and 50 years of age,  (d) between 50 and 60 years of age,  (e) between 60 and 70 years of age and  (f) over 70 years of age.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The composition of the membership of IMBs in prisons is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  IMB members in prisons by age 
			   Under 30  Between 30 and 40  Between 40 and 50  Between 50 and 60  Between 60 and 70  Over 70  
			   No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  Number of board members 
			 Acklington 0 0 0 0 1 6 5 28 7 39 5 28 18 
			 Albany 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 33 5 56 1 11 9 
			 Altcourse 1 9 0 0 1 9 1 9 6 55 2 18 11 
			 Ashfield 0 0 0 0 2 20 4 40 4 40 0 0 10 
			 Ashwell 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 17 5 83 0 0 6 
			 Askham Grange 0 0 0 0 2 22 1 11 4 44 2 22 9 
			 Aylesbury 0 0 0 0 1 10 3 30 3 30 3 30 10 
			 Bedford 0 0 1 8 0 0 2 17 9 75 0 0 12 
			 Belmarsh 0 0 2 11 4 22 6 33 4 22 2 11 18 
			 Birmingham 0 0 1 5 5 25 4 20 8 40 2 10 20 
			 Blakenhurst 0 0 0 0 1 8 7 54 4 31 1 8 13 
			 Blantyre House 0 0 0 0 1 9 3 27 5 45 2 18 11 
			 Blundeston 0 0 0 0 3 27 3 27 5 45 0 0 11 
			 Brinsford 1 7 3 21 1 7 3 21 6 43 0 0 14 
			 Bristol 1 10 1 10 0 0 3 30 5 50 0 0 10 
			 Brixton 6 30 5 25 2 10 0 0 5 25 2 10 20 
			 Brockhill 0 0 0 0 2 22 2 22 5 56 0 0 9 
			 Bronzefield 0 0 1 6 1 6 7 44 7 44 0 0 16 
			 Buckley Hall 0 0 0 0 1 10 1 10 5 50 3 30 10 
			 Bullingdon 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 29 10 71 0 0 14 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 0 0 0 2 25 4 50 2 25 0 0 8 
			 Camp Hill 0 0 1 10 0 0 2 20 6 60 1 10 10 
			 Canterbury 0 0 1 11 0 0 2 22 4 44 2 22 9 
			 Cardiff 0 0 0 0 1 10 2 20 5 50 2 20 10 
			 Castington 0 0 1 9 1 9 6 55 2 18 1 9 11 
			 Channings Wood 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 50 5 42 1 8 12 
			 Chelmsford 1 5 0 0 4 20 7 35 7 35 1 5 20 
			 Coldingley 0 0 0 0 2 22 3 33 3 33 1 11 9 
			 Cookham Wood 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 50 5 42 1 8 12 
			 Dartmoor 0 0 0 0 1 8 4 33 6 50 1 8 12 
			 Deerbolt 0 0 0 0 1 8 6 50 4 33 1 8 12 
			 Doncaster 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 43 3 43 1 14 7 
			 Dorchester 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 20 5 50 3 30 10 
			 Dovegate 0 0 0 0 1 7 2 14 11 79 0 0 14 
			 Downview 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 62 3 23 2 15 13 
			 Drake Hall 0 0 1 10 1 10 4 40 3 30 1 10 10 
			 Durham 0 0 1 8 2 15 6 46 4 31 0 0 13 
			 East Sutton Park 0 0 1 10 1 10 1 10 6 60 1 10 10 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 0 0 1 11 1 11 7 78 0 0 9 
			 Edmunds Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 29 5 71 0 0 7 
			 Elmley 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 50 4 40 1 10 10 
			 Erlestoke 0 0 0 0 1 10 3 30 6 60 0 0 10 
			 Everthorpe 1 8 1 8 0 0 3 25 5 42 2 17 12 
			 Exeter 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 33 8 67 0 0 12 
			 Featherstone 1 10 0 0 0 0 2 20 6 60 1 10 10 
			 Feltham 3 18 2 12 2 12 2 12 8 47 0 0 17 
			 Ford 0 0 0 0 1 7 5 33 9 60 0 0 15 
			 Forest Bank 1 6 0 0 0 0 9 53 5 29 2 12 17 
			 Foston Hall 0 0 0 0 2 22 2 22 2 22 3 33 9 
			 Frankland 0 0 1 7 1 7 4 27 9 60 0 0 15 
			 Full Sutton 0 0 2 15 0 0 4 31 5 38 2 15 13 
			 Garth 0 0 2 17 0 0 1 8 9 75 0 0 12 
			 Gartree 0 0 0 0 1 8 3 23 5 38 4 31 13 
			 Glen Parva 2 11 2 11 1 6 4 22 7 39 2 11 18 
			 Gloucester 0 0 0 0 1 10 2 20 7 70 0 0 10 
			 Grendon/Springhill 0 0 2 13 2 13 5 33 5 33 1 7 15 
			 Guys Marsh 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 64 5 36 0 0 14 
			 Haverigg 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 33 8 67 0 0 12 
			 Hewell Grange 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 43 4 57 0 0 7 
			 High Down 0 0 1 8 2 17 3 25 6 50 0 0 12 
			 Highpoint 0 0 0 0 1 6 4 25 9 56 2 13 16 
			 Hindley 0 0 0 0 1 7 7 47 4 27 3 20 15 
			 Hollesley Bay 0 0 0 0 1 13 1 13 5 63 1 13 8 
			 Holloway 0 0 3 18 4 24 5 29 5 29 0 0 17 
			 Holme House 0 0 0 0 2 14 4 29 8 57 0 0 14 
			 Hull 0 0 1 7 2 13 6 40 3 20 3 20 15 
			 Huntercombe 0 0 0 0 4 31 5 38 3 23 1 8 13 
			 Kingston 1 11 0 0 0 0 3 33 5 56 0 0 9 
			 Kirkham 0 0 0 0 1 11 4 44 3 33 1 11 9 
			 Kirklevington 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 6 67 1 11 9 
			 Lancaster Castle 0 0 1 10 0 0 1 10 7 70 1 10 10 
			 Lancaster Farms 1 7 0 0 3 20 4 27 6 40 1 7 15 
			 Latchmere House 0 0 0 0 2 18 2 18 6 55 1 9 11 
			 Leeds 0 0 1 6 2 13 3 19 9 56 1 6 16 
			 Leicester 0 0 1 8 0 0 2 15 9 69 1 8 13 
			 Lewes 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 55 4 36 1 9 11 
			 Leyhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 42 5 42 2 17 12 
			 Lincoln 0 0 0 0 1 7 3 20 8 53 3 20 15 
			 Lindholme 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 9 69 3 23 13 
			 Littlehey 0 0 1 8 1 8 3 25 4 33 3 25 12 
			 Liverpool 0 0 0 0 1 7 3 20 6 40 5 33 15 
			 Long Lartin 0 0 0 0 5 36 3 21 5 36 1 7 14 
			 Low Newton 0 0 1 10 3 30 1 10 4 40 1 10 10 
			 Lowdham Grange 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 45 5 45 1 9 11 
			 Maidstone 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 31 8 62 1 8 13 
			 Manchester 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 38 9 56 1 6 16 
			 Moorland 0 0 0 0 1 8 4 33 5 42 2 17 12 
			 Morton Hall 0 0 0 0 3 21 2 14 8 57 1 7 14 
			 New Hall 0 0 0 0 1 8 3 25 7 58 1 8 12 
			 North Sea Camp 0 0 0 0 1 9 5 45 5 45 0 0 11 
			 Northallerton 0 0 1 10 2 20 2 20 4 40 1 10 10 
			 Norwich 0 0 1 5 5 25 0 0 11 55 3 15 20 
			 Nottingham 0 0 0 0 3 18 5 29 8 47 1 6 17 
			 Onley 0 0 1 6 2 13 6 38 4 25 3 19 16 
			 Parc 1 7 0 0 1 7 6 40 7 47 0 0 15 
			 Parkhurst 0 0 0 0 1 11 3 33 3 33 2 22 9 
			 Pentonville 1 5 3 15 2 10 6 30 7 35 1 5 20 
			 Peterborough 0 0 0 0 1 6 5 29 8 47 3 18 17 
			 Portland 1 7 0 0 0 0 3 21 9 64 1 7 14 
			 Preston 1 6 0 0 2 11 4 22 6 33 5 28 18 
			 Ranby 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 33 6 40 4 27 15 
			 Reading 0 0 0 0 1 14 2 29 3 43 1 14 7 
			 Risley 0 0 1 6 2 12 8 47 1 6 5 29 17 
			 Rochester 0 0 0 0 1 9 7 64 3 27 0 0 11 
			 Rye Hill 0 0 0 0 2 14 5 36 4 29 3 21 14 
			 Send 0 0 0 0 1 10 5 50 3 30 1 10 10 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 0 1 11 0 0 3 33 4 44 1 11 9 
			 Shrewsbury 0 0 0 0 2 14 2 14 7 50 3 21 14 
			 Stafford 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 15 10 77 1 8 13 
			 Standford Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 43 2 29 2 29 7 
			 Stocken 0 0 0 0 2 13 5 31 8 50 1 6 16 
			 Stoke Heath 0 0 1 10 3 30 1 10 4 40 1 10 10 
			 Styal 0 0 0 0 2 12 3 18 9 53 3 18 17 
			 Sudbury 0 0 2 20 1 10 1 10 2 20 4 40 10 
			 Swaleside 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 86 1 14 0 0 7 
			 Swansea 0 0 0 0 1 8 3 23 7 54 2 15 13 
			 Swinfen Hall 1 9 1 9 0 0 5 45 3 27 1 9 11 
			 The Mount 0 0 1 7 0 0 5 36 6 43 2 14 14 
			 The Verne 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 23 8 62 2 15 13 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 1 13 2 25 4 50 1 13 8 
			 Usk 0 0 0 0 1 10 4 40 5 50 0 0 10 
			 Wakefield 0 0 1 6 1 6 8 44 5 28 3 17 18 
			 Wandsworth 1 5 2 11 2 11 3 16 9 47 2 11 19 
			 Warren Hill 0 0 0 0 2 25 1 13 4 50 1 13 8 
			 Wayland 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17 5 42 5 42 12 
			 Wealstun 0 0 0 0 1 7 4 27 4 27 6 40 15 
			 Wellingborough 0 0 1 10 0 0 2 20 4 40 3 30 10 
			 Werrington 0 0 1 10 0 0 4 40 4 40 1 10 10 
			 Wetherby 0 0 1 8 2 15 5 38 5 38 0 0 13 
			 Whatton 2 13 1 7 1 7 5 33 5 33 1 7 15 
			 Whitemoor 1 7 1 7 0 0 3 21 6 43 3 21 14 
			 Winchester 0 0 1 6 2 13 2 13 11 69 0 0 16 
			 Wolds 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 25 3 25 6 50 12 
			 Woodhill 0 0 2 14 2 14 2 14 7 50 1 7 14 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 0 0 1 5 4 20 10 50 4 20 1 5 20 
			 Wymott 0 0 0 0 1 11 0 0 7 78 1 11 9 
			 Totals 29 1.7 67 3.9 157 9.2 498 29.1 761 44.5 198 11.6 1,710 
			  Note: Figures show the number of members on each board by age group and the percentage of the total number of board members this represents.

Prison Service

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Criminal Justice System Race Unit about the appropriateness of the Prison Service's rehabilitative interventions to the needs of minority ethnic and religious groups.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Criminal Justice System Race Unit (which sits within the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and is a tri-lateral organisation reporting to the Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and Attorney-General) makes regular reports to, and has had regular discussion, with the relevant Ministers on the activity of Prison Service and the way it impacts on different ethnic minority groups.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the operational capacity is of HM Prison Latchmere House; and how many inmates are detained there.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As at 4 August 2006, the operational capacity of HMP Latchmere House was 207. The number of prisoners held at the establishment was 192.

Prison Service

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new prison places have been created in each year since 1997; and what the cost of new prison places was in each year.

John Reid: The following table provides information on the number of new prison places and an estimate of the capital building cost from 1997 onwards. This information includes places at new prisons as well as those provided at existing prisons by building houseblocks, Ready to Use Units (RTUs) and Modular Temporary Units (MTUs). It does not take into account any places provided by subsequent overcrowding, or places taken out of use.
	
		
			   Number of New Prison Places  Capital Building Cost ( million)( 1) 
			 1997-98 4,716 278 
			 1998-99 1,222 82 
			 1999-2000 1,646 107 
			 2000-01 640 39 
			 2001-02 920 73 
			 2002-03 1,780 102 
			 2003-04 1,376 106 
			 2004-05 2,570 257 
			 2005-06 940 112 
			 (1) Actual costs, not adjusted for inflation. Costs relate to the places opened in each year.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with drug counsellors in prisons on the relative effectiveness of different drug treatment and intervention programmes across the prison estate.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government routinely consult with prison drug treatment workers who report positively on the ability of prison drug treatment to make a real difference for prisoners in addressing their drug dependency.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons issue condoms to prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Doctors in all prisons in England and Wales, in a circular letter dated 16 August 1995, were informed that they should prescribe condoms to individual prisoners, on application, if, in their clinical judgment, there was a risk of HIV infection.
	The Prison Service is planning to issue revised guidance and instructions which aim to clarify the policy on condoms so that it can be applied more evenly across the prison estate.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what preparations have been made by the Prison Service for the introduction of custody plus and intermittent sentencing; what impact he expects the change to have on the prison population; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the review of the Criminal Justice System published on 20 July the Government announced that Custody Plus will not go ahead in autumn 2006 as previously planned.
	Intermittent Custody has been piloted at two prison establishments. We are considering the future of Intermittent Custody in light of learning from the pilots and of the decision not to proceed with Custody Plus.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Irish nationals have been deported to the Irish Republic from HM Prison Service establishments in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of Irish nationals deported to the Irish Republic from HM Prison Service establishments in the last 12 months is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost through examination of individual case files. My written ministerial statement of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 29WS, set out the steps the Department is taking to improve the collection of robust management information on nationality across the system as part of improving the overall system for deportation of foreign national prisoners.

Prison Service

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking  (a) to reduce the number of absconders and  (b) to capture absconded prisoners from HMP Sudbury.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The prison completes a significant number of security information reports each month, informing its security department of any suspicious activity including risk of abscond. Security intelligence is regularly followed up and a number of prisoners are returned to closed conditions each month.
	All absconds are reported to the police immediately. The prison has established close links with the local police and the police liaison officer visits the establishment frequently, in addition to attending the monthly security committee meeting.

Prison Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1220W, on prisoners, what medical guidance his Department has received from health care professionals on the transportation of prisoners;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has held with medical professionals about the transportation of prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The unit responsible for Prison Health within the Department of Health was included in the consultation on the specification for new escort contracts. It is a requirement for all prisoners to have their medical needs assessed by a healthcare professional prior to transportation.
	Neither I nor my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary or my noble Friend the Minister for Criminal Justice and Offender Management have had any recent meetings with health care professionals about the transportation of prisoners.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2006 to question 63082, on prisoners, what definition he uses of disproportionate cost.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The definition of disproportionate cost is when the cost of providing an answer is judged likely to exceed the limit of 600, 22 March 2005,  Official Report, column 48WS.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1056W, on prisons, for what reason records are not kept centrally of how many inmates are being held in open conditions who have previously been Category A or Category B prisoners; and what assessment he has made of how this may affect his Department's ability to ensure offenders are monitored appropriately  (a) while in custody and  (b) subsequently upon release.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Risk assessments and subsequent decisions on a prisoner's categorisation and allocation are made at the establishment holding the prisoner. Records are therefore held at the prison and on the prisoner's individual record as the most appropriate placement so they may be readily accessed throughout custody and in preparation for release. All prisons are subject to local and national audit of their categorisation and allocation procedures with audit reports being scrutinised centrally.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average distance from home  (a) female and  (b) male prisoners were imprisoned in each of the last nine years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Average distance from home (miles) for male prisoners  Average distance from home (miles) for women prisoners 
			 1997 53 67 
			 1998 52 63 
			 1999 56 66 
			 2000 55 63 
			 2001 53 65 
			 2002 53 64 
			 2003 52 68 
			 2004 51 62 
			 2005 50 58 
			  Note: Figures are taken from sample data, not necessarily in the same month each year.

Prison Service

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are on  (a) the mandatory drug testing programme and  (b) the voluntary drug testing programme in the West Midlands.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All prisoners are subject to the requirements of the mandatory drug testing programme. In 2005-06, the number of voluntary drug testing compacts in place in prisons in the West Midlands was 2,682.

Prison Service

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many carbon dioxide emission permits have been allocated to prisons in its first year of operation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme; and what the emissions were of each prison participating in the scheme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: One permit has been allocated. The sites covered by the permit are Wymott and Garth prisons which emitted 7,360 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Prison Service

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Inner Change Programme at Dartmoor Prison has been discontinued; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The programme was introduced as a pilot only. Following a review under Prison Service Order 4350 (Effective Regimes Interventions) the programme is currently being withdrawn. The Review Panel identified a range of concerns, the most significant being the poor quality of the manuals which did not demonstrate a structured and coherent programme, a lack of consistency and clarity about the primary aims of the programme, a lack of understanding and appropriate sensitivity to the diversity agenda of HM Prison Service, and an absence of protocols for the management of the mentor system, making it unsafe.

Prison Service

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to expand the capacity of the prison estate over the next 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The ongoing prison building programme will deliver 780 new places in the next 12 months. This includes 180 places which have already been built but are not yet fully open.

Prison Service

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1685W, on prisons, for which offence each prisoner who absconded from an open prison in England and Wales was originally convicted.

John Reid: In order to answer this question it would be necessary to examine each individual record. This could be done only at a disproportionate cost.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which governors in the Prison Service received performance-related pay in the year ending March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I am unable to detail which operational and senior managers, formerly known as governors, have received performance-related pay because of the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what involvement the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale, East had in the handling of a human resources issue at HM Prison Wandsworth in October 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not clear from the hon. Member's question to what issue he refers.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations his Department made in October 2004 to the Area Manager for London on the Service Level Agreement being developed as part of the performance testing exercise at HM Prison Wandsworth.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In announcing the results of the performance test evaluation panel, the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service asked that the Service Level Agreement (SLA) included a requirement to report on progress six months after the commencement of the SLA.

Prison Service

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sites the Prison Service has purchased in West Yorkshire since January 2004; how much was spent on each purchase.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No sites have been purchased in West Yorkshire.

Prison Service

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children are held in prison, broken down by age and sex.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of children under the age of 18 who are held in prison, by age and sex, is given in Table 3 of the monthly Population in Custody tables for May 2006, which are available at the following web address.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/prismay06.pdf.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Prison Service

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which places in the ownership of his Department have planning permission for the development of a prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has an outline planning permission for a 600-place prison on the Ashworth south site at Maghull, Merseyside and a detailed permission for a 500-place prison on a site at the Isle of Wight to the west of Parkhurst Prison.

Prison Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contingency plans he has in place to deal with the expected rise in the prison population; and what assessment he has made of the viability of using  (a) prison ships,  (b) Ministry of Defence facilities,  (c) police cells and  (d) home detention curfew to deal with this increase.

John Reid: An ongoing building programme will deliver around 900 new places at existing prisons in 2007. The prison expansion programme, announced on 20 July 2006, will deliver a further 8,000 new prison places. Contingency planning and alternative options remain under review.

Prison Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the  (a) capital and  (b) annual revenue cost of his plans to build 8,000 new prison places.

John Reid: Estimated capital costs for the 8,000-place expansion programme are around 1.5 billion. Estimated annual running costs are expected to be around 0.35 billion once the programme is completed.

Prison Service

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio of prisoners to prison staff was at each prison in each of the last eight years; and whether he has plans to change this ratio.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of prisoners to each member of staff in every public sector Prison Service establishment since 1999 is contained in the following table. Ratios are set for each category of establishment but these are not based on all staff; just officer grades who are on operational duty on a particular day. The ratio specifically relates to key points in the daily regime. There are no plans to change these ratios.
	
		
			  Ratio of total staff to prisoners between 1999 to 2006 in prisons in England and Wales 
			   Number of prisoners to each member of staff( 1, 2, 3) 
			   As at 30 June:  
			  Establishment  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  31 May 2006 
			 Acklington 1.8 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.0 
			 Albany 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.6 
			 Ashwell 2.2 2.2 1.7 2.0 2.0 1.8 2.0 1.9 
			 Askham Grange 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.3 
			 Aylesbury 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.3 
			 Bedford 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0 
			 Belmarsh 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 
			 Birmingham 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.8 1.4 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Blakenhurst3.0 2.7 2.1 2.3 2.3 
			 Blantyre House 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.7 
			 Blundeston 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 
			 Brinsford 1.6 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2 
			 Bristol 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 
			 Brixton 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Brockhill 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 
			 Buckley Hall  2.1 2.0 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.8 
			 Bullingdon 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.1 
			 Bullwood Hall 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 
			 Camp Hill 1.7 1.7 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.0 
			 Canterbury 1.4 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.3 
			 Cardiff 1.8 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6 
			 Castington 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.0 
			 Channings Wood 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Chelmsford 1.3 1.1 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 
			 Coldingley 1.3 1.5 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.9 
			 Cookham Wood 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 
			 Dartmoor 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 
			 Deerbolt 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 
			 Dorchester 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.3 
			 Dover 1.2 1.5 0.9 0.7 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.0 
			 Downview 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.4 
			 Drake Hall 1.4 1.1 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 
			 Durham 1.3 1.3 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.2 1.5 
			 East Sutton Park 1.7 1.1 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 
			 Eastwood Park 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.0 
			 Edmunds Hill0.0 1.8 1.0 0.7 1.4 
			 Elmley 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.2 
			 Erlestoke 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Everthorpe 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.5 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.8 
			 Exeter 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 
			 Featherstone 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.9 
			 Feltham 1.5 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 
			 Ford 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.7 1.9 
			 Foston Hall 1.3 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.0 
			 Frankland 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 
			 Full Sutton 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 
			 Garth 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.3 
			 Gartree 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.2 
			 Glen Parva 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.5 
			 Gloucester 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 
			 Grendon 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.6 
			 Guys Marsh 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.8 
			 Haslar 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.2 1.3 0.8 1.0 1.4 
			 Haverigg 1.1 1.2 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 
			 Hewell Grange 2.0 2.3 2.0 2.3 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.5 
			 High Down 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.7 1.7 
			 Highpoint 1.6 1.6 1.7 2.3 1.5 1.9 1.9 1.9 
			 Hindley 1.3 1.0 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.1 0.9 1.0 
			 Hollesley Bay 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.2 2.8 2.2 2.2 1.7 
			 Holloway 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 
			 Holme House 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.9 2.0 
			 Hull 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Huntercombe 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.2 
			 Kingston 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 0.9 1.4 1.3 
			 Kirkham 1.9 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.0 1.6 
			 Kirklevington Grange 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 
			 Lancaster 1.4 0.8 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.4 1.3 
			 Lancaster Farms 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3 
			 Latchmere House 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.2 
			 Leeds 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.8 
			 Leicester 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.3 1.3 
			 Lewes 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.7 
			 Leyhill 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.0 1.4 
			 Lincoln 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 
			 Lindholme 1.7 1.1 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.7 1.6 
			 Littlehey 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.1 
			 Liverpool 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.9 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.8 
			 Long Lartin 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 
			 Low Newton 0.5 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.8 
			 Maidstone 1.6 1.6 1.1 1.3 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.8 
			 Manchester 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5 
			 Moorland/Moorland Open 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 
			 Morton Hall 2.6 2.4 1.3 1.1 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.4 
			 New Hall 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.8 
			 North Sea Camp 1.9 2.0 1.6 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 1.7 
			 Northallerton 1.8 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.3 
			 Norwich 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.7 
			 Nottingham 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3 
			 Onley 1.6 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.5 
			 Parkhurst 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 
			 Pentonville 1.9 1.8 2.1 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Portland 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.1 1.2 
			 Preston 1.7 1.3 1.4 1.7 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.5 
			 Ranby 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.8 1.9 
			 Reading 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 
			 Risley 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1 
			 Rochester 1.4 1.2 1.2 0.6 0.6 1.1 1.3 1.3 
			 Send 0.7 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.3 
			 Shepton Mallet 1.5 1.5 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 
			 Shrewsbury 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.6 
			 Stafford 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.9 
			 Standford Hill 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.6 
			 Stocken 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Stoke Heath 1.8 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5 
			 Styal 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.0 1.1 
			 Sudbury 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.6 
			 Swaleside 1.6 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Swansea 1.5 1.3 0.8 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.5 
			 Swinfen Hall 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.4 1.3 
			 The Mount 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 
			 The Verne 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.0 
			 The Weare 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.0  
			 Thorn Cross 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.1 0.9 
			 Usk/Prescoed 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.5 
			 Wakefield 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.1 
			 Wandsworth 1.9 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.0 
			 Warren Hill 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.8 
			 Wayland 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 
			 Wealstun 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.4 1.8 1.8 
			 Wellingborough 1.2 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.6 
			 Werrington 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9 
			 Wetherby 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 
			 Whatton 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.4 
			 Whitemoor 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 
			 Winchester 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.8 
			 Woodhill 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1.3 1.4 1.7 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.0 
			 Wymott 1.9 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 (1) These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number. (2) Staffing information for the contracted estate is not collated centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Contracted prisons have therefore been excluded from the table. (3 )The staffing figures used in these calculations relate only to staff directly employed by the public sector Prison Service.

Prison Service

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total capacity of prisons in England and Wales was in each of the last eight years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Month/year  Operational capacity 
			 June 1998 67,019 
			 June 1999 68,114 
			 June 2000 69,487 
			 June 2001 69,341 
			 June 2002 71,912 
			 June 2003 74,696 
			 June 2004 76,227 
			 June 2005 77,726 
			 June 2006 79,449

Prison Service

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been sent to prisons in England and Wales in each of the last eight years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of persons sentenced to immediate custody in England and Wales is published in Sentencing Statistics 2004, England and Wales, (Home Office Bulletin No 15/05), Table 2.4 (page 25) and is on the Home Office website at:http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1505.pdf Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile such figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although some figures may be shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown. We have started a programme of work in the Home Office looking at the quality of existing court sentencing data and how this might be improved.

Prison Service

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what security checks are carried out on casual staff working in the Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Casual employees are subject to the same checks as those for permanent employees and include checks on: identity; proof of address; entitlement to work in the UK; criminal record check; references; qualifications and where appropriate, national security vetting.

Prison Service

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners do not have British citizenship.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of foreign national prisoners serving an immediate custodial sentence in prison establishments in England and Wales is given in table 8.28 of the web tables of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, available at the following address. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Prison Service

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Prison Service's strategy is for tackling bullying in the workplace.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The public sector Prison Service's policy on tackling bullying is set out in Prison Service Order (PSO) 8010 Equal Opportunities. This makes clear that staff have the right to make complaints about bullying; and that managers have responsibility for ensuring a workplace free from bullying and for dealing with any complaints they receive. PSO 8460 Conduct and Discipline describes the procedures to be followed where allegations of bullying require formal investigation and identifies bullying as gross misconduct which, depending on the circumstances of the case, may result in dismissal from the Service. Copies of all PSOs are available in the Library of the House.

Prison Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for  (a) reducing the energy output of existing prisons and  (b) minimising the energy output of new prisons; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: It is planned to reduce energy consumption across the public sector prison estate in England and Wales in 2006-07 by 4.44GWh. This equates to a reduction of 1,675 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions.
	All newly built prison buildings must conform to the building regulations, in particular Part L (conservation and power). However, a significant proportion of new prison buildings will go beyond these requirements.

Prison Service

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much additional capacity he plans to create in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: An ongoing building programme will deliver around 900 new places at existing prisons between July 2006 and 2007. This includes 180 places which have already been built but are not yet fully open.
	The prison expansion programme, announced on 20 July 2006, will deliver a further 8,000 new prison places.

Prison Service

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many rapes have been reported in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years, broken down by sex of victim.

Gerry Sutcliffe: An alleged rape is recorded on the central incident reporting system under the category of sexual assault. All such incidents are reported to the police for investigation. There were 79 reports of alleged rape in the last five calendar years. The following table provides a breakdown of alleged rapes by the gender of the victims and by the prison.
	
		
			  Alleged rapes by prison in England and Wales and gender of victim between 2001 and 2005 
			  Prison  Gender 
			  2001  
			 Durham Male x 2 
			 Elmley Male 
			 Full Sutton Male 
			 Glen Parva Male 
			 Highpoint Female 
			 Holme House Male 
			 Lincoln Male 
			 Liverpool Male 
			 Manchester Male 
			 Norwich Male 
			 Moorland Male 
			 Swaleside Male 
			 Swinfen Hall Male 
			 Wakefield Male 
			 Woodhill Male 
			   
			  2002  
			 Bedford Male 
			 Buckley Hall Female 
			 Bullingdon Male 
			 Cardiff Male 
			 Durham Female 
			 Elmley Male 
			 Feltham Male x 2 
			 Gartree Male 
			 Hull Male x 2 
			 Leeds Male 
			 Lewes Male 
			 Lincoln Male 
			 Whitemoor Male 
			 Winchester Male x 2 
			   
			  2003  
			 Albany Male 
			 Chelmsford Male x 2 
			 Durham Male x 2 
			 Exeter Male x 2 
			 Highpoint Female 
			 Hull Male 
			 Leeds Male 
			 Maidstone Male 
			 New Hall Female x 2 
			 Norwich Male 
			 Parkhurst Male x 2 
			 Pentonville Male 
			 Preston Male x 3 
			 Stafford Male x 2 
			 Winchester Male 
			   
			  2004  
			 Aylesbury Male 
			 Blakenhurst Male x 2 
			 Bullingdon Male 
			 Dovegate Male 
			 Exeter Male 
			 Highdown Male 
			 Holme House Male 
			 Liverpool Male 
			 Maidstone Male x 3 
			 Manchester Male 
			 Parc Male 
			 Winchester Male 
			   
			  2005  
			 Altcourse Male 
			 Eastwood Park Female 
			 Forest Bank Male 
			 Lancaster Male 
			 Leeds Male 
			 Lincoln Male 
			 Long Lartin Male 
			 Parc Male 
			 Wakefield Male

Prison Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of people imprisoned on remand pending trial were subsequently  (a) acquitted and  (b) given a non-custodial sentence in the last period for which figures are available.

John Reid: The information requested is contained in Chapter 4 of Criminal Statistics 2004 which can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1905.pdf.
	Table 4.8 on page 82 gives figures for the numbers of defendants remanded in custody by final court outcome.
	Figures for 2005 will be published in the autumn of 2006.

Probation Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the probation budget is for 2006-07, broken down by area; and what the figures were for 2005-06.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Probation Board's annual budget for 2005-06 was 786,468,759 and this figure represents the Board's final budget position at the end of the financial year. It includes all relevant budget adjustments which were made during the year. The budget figure for 2006-07, of 818,004,241, is the first quarter allocated position and is therefore subject to further changes during the course of the year. A table showing the breakdown by area Board for both years follows.
	
		
			   
			   Revenue budget 
			  Board  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 18,272,900 18,978,122 
			 Bedfordshire 8,180,000 8,575,071 
			 Cambridgeshire 8,880,000 9,257,282 
			 Cheshire 15,367,000 13,869,551 
			 Cumbria 7,458,500 7,872,810 
			 Derbyshire 12,165,500 12,731,343 
			 Devon and Cornwall 18,184,000 19,321,749 
			 Dorset 7,989,000 8,264,705 
			 Durham 9,513,000 10,054,916 
			 Essex 17,838,600 18,455,870 
			 Gloucestershire 6,523,500 6,827,540 
			 Hampshire 21,812,500 22,779,039 
			 Hertfordshire 9,706,000 10,368,603 
			 Humberside 14,909,500 16,081,339 
			 Kent 19,011,500 20,394,017 
			 Lancashire 20,227,543 20,957,594 
			 Leicestershire 13,054,500 13,278,030 
			 Lincolnshire 8,414,000 8,836,610 
			 Norfolk 10,188,851 10,643,898 
			 Northamptonshire 8,148,500 8,581,609 
			 North Yorkshire 8,998,000 9,385,751 
			 Nottinghamshire 17,142,500 18,000,092 
			 Staffordshire 14,334,500 15,774,373 
			 Suffolk 8,677,500 9,227,333 
			 Surrey 9,408,000 9,624,713 
			 Sussex 15,677,000 16,506,494 
			 Teeside 12,156,700 12,664,397 
			 Thames Valley 23,381,500 24,101,860 
			 Warwickshire 6,491,500 6,795,534 
			 West Mercia 13,197,000 13,593,886 
			 Wiltshire 7,224,000 7,672,879 
			 Greater Manchester 45,645,000 47,064,171 
			 Merseyside 28,589,100 28,053,706 
			 Northumbria 26,005,000 26,850,198 
			 South Yorkshire 23,034,000 23,991,951 
			 West Midlands 50,077,500 53,160,143 
			 West Yorkshire 36,225,700 37,793,020 
			 London 132,727,100 138,096,986 
			 Dyfed-Powys 7,495,519 7,964,434 
			 Gwent 10,018,000 10,599,210 
			 North Wales 11,012,500 11,354,055 
			 South Wales 23,106,246 23,599,355 
			 Total 786,468,759 818,004,241 
			 (1) Subject to further changes.

Probation Service

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Department routinely takes to monitor the whereabouts of  (a) murderers,  (b) rapists and  (c) paedophiles released from prison; and what assessment he has made of the efficacy of these measures.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 3 May 2006
	Any offender sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment or more is subject to probation supervision and to licence conditions. The offender must adhere to any conditions attached to the licence, including standard conditions set in all cases, which require him to remain in contact with his supervising officer and live at a suitable address. Any offender in breach of licence conditions risks recall to prison. Although it is not possible from national data to categorise the breaches in question, the probation service has achieved a significant improvement in performance in relation to all breaches of licence conditions. Its target is to enforce 90 per cent. of breaches overall within 10 working days. In 1997-98 the enforcement rate for licences stood at 34 per cent. It is now 93 per cent.
	In addition, any offender subject to sex offender registration requirements is required to notify to the police a home address within three days of leaving prison, and to notify any subsequent change of address within three days of the change thereafter while still subject to registration. Failure to supply that information, or supplying false information, is an offence punishable by up to five years imprisonment. Registration requirements were strengthened recently by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
	
		
			  Enforcement of licences by the probation service 
			  Percentage 
			   Enforced within 10 days  Enforced whether or not within 10 days 
			 1997-98 34  
			 1998-99 51  
			 2001-02 58 66 
			 2002-03 63 74 
			 2003-04 79 83 
			 2004-05 85 88 
			 2005-06(1) 93 95 
			 (1 )April 2005 to February 2006.  Note:  National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders in the Community require breach or recall action to be taken on or before a third unacceptable failure to comply with a licence and for this action to be initiated within 10 working days of the relevant failure.

Probation Service

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the figures recently published in  The Daily Telegraph and obtained from an internal Home Office document concerning the number of offences per week committed by offenders under supervision to the Probation Service were calculated.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The measure records subsequent contact with the criminal justice system by offenders who were under probation service supervision at a particular point in time. It is based on matching offenders who are recorded as being under supervision at the end of a given quarter with the Police National Computer (PNC). Once offenders are matched, automated programmes search for whether the offenders had an entry on the PNC in the two months following the end of the quarter. The PNC entries could be for (i) arrest, charge, summons, or report, and/or (ii) conviction, and/or (iii) caution. It does not show weekly data, only monthly summaries. The bulk of the entries are not proven offences; an arrest or charge cannot be equated with admission or proof of guilt. These data are in development, and are released as experimental statistics. At the moment, they have not been assessed as fit for purpose and could be inaccurate or misleading. The assessment of accuracy and fitness will proceed during the financial year 2006-07.

Probation Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1093-94W, on life sentences, when the Probation Service lost contact with the offender who has been out of contact for more than 10 years.

John Reid: Probation Service contact with the offender in question was lost in 1984 when he is believed to have left the UK.

Probation Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether the relevant probation service informed the Recalls Section at his Department of every lifer who was released on licence and subsequently absconded;
	(2)  how many  (a) discretionary lifers and  (b) mandatory lifers released on licence subsequently absconded in each of the last five years.

John Reid: Probation areas are expected to notify breaches of life licence conditions in relation to individual cases, including loss of contact. Extracting the requested specific information through the examination of the individual files of each life licensee could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and would necessitate removing caseworkers from the business of managing offenders to carry out this work.

Probation Service

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in  (a) England and  (b) Beverley and Holderness were returned to prison after violating their probation conditions in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of persons recalled to prisons in England and Wales  (a) from Home Detention Curfew,  (b) from licence following determinate sentences of four years or more, (c) from life licence, and (d) from ACR licence can be found in tables 10.7 to 10.9, and paragraph 10.12 respectively, of Home Office Statistical Bulletin 17/05: Offender Management Caseload Statistics, England and Wales, 2004. Copies of this publication can be found in the Library.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.
	Information is not available on a constituency or regional basis.

Probation Service

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) former convicted prisoners and  (b) foreign national former convicted prisoners are subject to supervision in the community following their release.

Gerry Sutcliffe: At 31 December 2005 there were 25,600 (rounded to the nearest 100) offenders under post-release supervision in England and Wales. It is not known how many of these were foreign nationals as, while the Probation Service routinely records the ethnic origin of offenders in accordance with agreed CJS codings, the nationality of offenders is not systematically recorded and there is no national framework for doing this.

Production Orders

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many production orders were used by police in the last year for which figures were available to obtain information about individuals from  (a) solicitors,  (b) accountants,  (c) banks and  (d) others.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of production orders issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is not held centrally.

Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public appointments are within his patronage; what  (a) salary and  (b) other emoluments are attached to each; and what the comparable figures were in (i) 1976, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1996.

Liam Byrne: Details of the public appointments to public bodies sponsored by the Home Office can be found in Public Bodies, copies of which are in the Library. Public Bodies has been published annually since 1980 and the most recent edition provides figures for 2005. Each edition of Public Bodies contains details on the number of public appointments and remuneration details for that particular year. Comparable information for 1976 in respect of the Home Office could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Public Bodies

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the  (a) Community Development Foundation and  (b) Community Policy Directorate.

Hilary Armstrong: I have been asked to reply.
	The Community Development Foundation (CDF) has a long track record of success since its inception in 1968. It is currently embarking on a three-year forward programme to enhance community development and capacity building by focusing on strong communities, community engagement and community cohesion. It reports on past performance and provides a variety of publications both about its own work and about the community development as a whole.
	The responsibilities of the former Community Policy Directorate (latterly Communities Group of the Home Office) have been divided, following the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 May, between the Department for Communities and Local Government, who will be responsible for sponsorship of the CDF and the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office.

Public Order

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were found guilty of  (a) drunk and disorderly behaviour and  (b) drunk and aggravated behaviour in the West Suffolk constituency in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of offenders found guilty of offences classified as drunkenness with aggravation (which includes drunk and disorderly) in Suffolk police force area, 1997-2004, are given in the following table. It is not possible to identify those found guilty of the aforementioned offences in West Suffolk constituency, as the data is not collected at this level of detail. Court statistics for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.
	
		
			  Number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences relating to drunkenness in Suffolk Police Force Area( 1, 2) 
			   Offence description: Drunkenness with aggravation( 3) 
			 1997 254 
			 1998 194 
			 1999 197 
			 2000 202 
			 2001 244 
			 2002 301 
			 2003 317 
			 2004 293 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Includes the offence of drunk and disorderly [Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec. 91] and other miscellaneous offences of drunkenness with aggravations.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform. 
		
	
	In addition to this, the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme was brought into effect in all police forces in England and Wales during 2004. Under the scheme the police are able to issue persons committing specified minor offences with a fixed penalty notice. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability for the offence. In 2004, 267 penalty notices were issued in Suffolk for the offence of being drunk and disorderly; provisional data show that 768 PNDs were issued in 2005. It is not possible to identify how many PNDs for these offences were issued in West Suffolk constituency, as the data is not collected at this level of detail.

Public Order

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) acceptable behaviour contracts, (b) dispersal orders and  (c) fixed penalty notices were issued in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The data for acceptable behaviour contracts, dispersal orders and fixed penalty notices is not available in the form requested. However, for the last two years the Home Office Anti-social Behaviour Unit has carried out a survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Community Safety Partnerships in Wales asking about their actions taken to tackle antisocial behaviour. From those who responded to the surveys the results are as follows:
	5,094 acceptable behaviour contracts were issued from 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004.
	8,654 acceptable behaviour contracts were issued from 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005.
	A Home Office data collection exercise carried out in July 2005 estimated that between January 2004 and June 2005 809 areas were designated as dispersal areas. From April 2006 the Home Office will be collecting information on dispersal powers on a quarterly basis.
	In 2004, 12,818 penalty notices were issued in London and provisional data shows that 17,915 were rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales during 2004-05. It is not possible to provide details of how many penalty notices for disorder were issued in each of the five London boroughs.

Racist Incidents

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) charged with and  (b) convicted of racial abuse in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: As there is no specific offence of racial abuse, the information requested is not available.

Racist Incidents

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the establishment of the new Yorkshire 0800 telephone line for the reporting of racial incidents is expected to cost; and how the operation of the line is to be funded.

John Reid: The Helpline for reporting racial incidents in Yorkshire and the Humber is a pilot study commissioned by the Home Office in consultation with the Racist Incidents Group, an independent group chaired by Iqbal Bhana and supported by the Home Office. The Home Office has provided funding to the Leeds Racial Harassment Project of 55,000 for the period of the pilot study and a further 3,500 has been provided by the Safer Leeds Partnership. The cost of setting up the 0800 telephone line is approximately 4,000.

Racist Incidents

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racist incidents were  (a) reported in the Leicestershire Constabulary Central Area and  (b) resulted in convictions in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The following table shows the number of racist incidents recorded by the police in Leicestershire as a whole for the last three years for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Racist incidents in Leicestershire 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 1,181 
			 2003-04 1,284 
			 2004-05 1,436 
		
	
	The number of convictions relating to these incidents is not available as the incidents included here relate to a range of activity and are wider than the normal definition of crime.

Recidivism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the re-conviction rate has been in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The most recent re-offending data for adults were published in Re-offending of adults: results from the 2002 cohort which is available through the Home Office's website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm. The report shows the proportion of offenders who were released from prison or commenced a community sentence and were subsequently proven to have re-offended within two years. Results are given for 2000 and 2002. Reconviction data for the years 1997 to 2000 were published in Prison statistics England and Wales 2002 and Probation statistics England and Wales 2002.
	Data for 2001 were published in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003. These publications are available on the Home Office website. The measure used to calculate reconviction was changed in 2005. This means that the data in the Re-offending of adults: results from the 2002 cohor report cannot be directly compared to the earlier publications. The differences are explained in the section Measuring Re-offending which begins on page 1.

Recidivism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals released from a secure training or custody facility have  (a) been reconvicted and  (b) received a (i) reprimand, (ii) final warning and (iii) caution within a year of release in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not routinely collected. Information on one-year reoffending rates of juveniles released from custody in 2004 is available in Table A6 of Re-offending of juveniles: results from the 2004 cohort available at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1006.pdf Information on one-year reoffending of adults released from prison or starting community sentences in 2002 is available in Table A1 of Re-offending of adults: results from the 2002 cohort available at: http: //www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb2505.pdf Table A5 gives two-year re-offending rates for those released from prison. Please note that the aforementioned publications include information on offending that subsequently led to conviction and do not include information on offending that led to pre-court disposals (for juveniles, pre-court disposals include reprimands and final warnings; for adults, they include cautions).

Removals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) asylum seekers and  (b) other non-UK citizens have been asked by his Department and its agencies to leave the UK in each year since 1997; how many have left in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information relating to the number of asylum seekers and non-asylum cases who have had enforcement action initiated against them and who have been removed is published in Table 6.1 of the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2004 Command Paper.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum, including the Command Paper, are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Road Safety

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists have been prosecuted for offences committed while driving on motorways, excluding speeding offences registered by speed cameras, in each of the past 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The only offences identified within the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform that are specific to motorways are excluded traffic using motorway [Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 s. 17 (4)]; and various offences (driving, stopping etc. by vehicles on the motorway (Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 Regs. 5-12 and users failing to keep animal under control Regs. 14. These data are given in the table.
	All other offences committed on motorways cannot be identified from the data held centrally either because the offence as defined in legislation is not specific to any grade/type of road (e.g. speeding) or because it is not identified separately, and grouped together with other miscellaneous motoring offences.
	Available information on proceedings at magistrates courts for offences specific to motorway (other than speeding) from 1995 to 2004 (latest available), is given in the following table.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates court for motorway offences( 1)  (other than speeding), England and Wales, 1995-2004 
			   Number of offences 
			 1995 5,700 
			 1996 4,900 
			 1997 3,400 
			 1998 3,000 
			 1999 2,500 
			 2000 3,200 
			 2001 2,500 
			 2002 2,900 
			 2003 2,400 
			 2004 3,000 
			 (1) Offences underRoad traffic regulation Act 1984 S.17(4)excluded traffic using motorway. Motorways traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 Regs. 5-12: various offences (driving, stopping etc. vehicles on motorways): Regs. 14 - Motor user failing to keep animal under control.

Royal Parks Constabulary

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been allocated in connection with the merger of the Royal Parks constabulary into the Metropolitan police for  (a) modifications to buildings and furnishings,  (b) stationery,  (c) vehicle re-branding,  (d) replacement of uniforms and  (e) other costs; from what budgets the resources will be drawn; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Government have agreed with the Metropolitan police an annual payment for the operating cost of policing the Royal Parks. In addition a sum of 1.35 million has been paid by the Royal Parks Agency to the Metropolitan police towards start-up costs of training and equipment to bring the service in line with that provided more widely by the Metropolitan police.
	The DCMS will ensure the operating cost provision will be transferred from the Royal Parks to the Home Department.

Rural Police Stations

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many rural areas had a permanently staffed police station in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held centrally.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects every Safer Neighbourhood Team in London to have its full complement of police officers and community safety officers.

Tony McNulty: The Metropolitan Police Service aims to have a full complement of police officers and police community support officers in all safer neighbourhood teams by 31 December 2006.
	Currently, dedicated safer neighbourhood teams comprising of a minimum of four staffone sergeant, one constable and two PCSOsare operating in all of London's 624 wards. By the end of December 2006 every team will have a minimum of one sergeant, two constables and three PCSOs.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when all safer neighbourhoods teams in Brent are expected to reach their full complement of staff.

Tony McNulty: The Metropolitan Police Service expect the safer neighbourhoods teams in the London borough of Brent to receive a full complement of staff by the end of December 2006. This will mean that all the teams in Brent will have a minimum of one sergeant, two police constables and three police community support officers.

Safer Parking Scheme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which car parks have achieved the Safer Parking Scheme Park Mark award; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The British Parking Association, who manage the safer parking scheme on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers, advise that on 21 July 2006 there were 2,156 car parks within England and Wales holding the scheme's Park Mark award. The location of each of these is on a list which I have placed in the Library today.
	The Home Office believes significant improvements should be made in car park safety. The industry is responding to this challenge and I do not think it is currently necessary for the Government to develop proposals to change the law relating to car parks so as to achieve a reduction in crime. But I will want to review the position in about 12 months' time to ensure the industry achieves the improvements that the Government expect.

Sakchoi Macao

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) Immigration and Nationality Directorate staff were present at the removal of Sakchoi Macao on 6 June 2006; where the officers are normally based; and what the cost was of the transportation of these officers to and from Shetland.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 12 June 2006
	Three police officers and two Immigration and Nationality Directorate staff were present during the operation to detain the individual concerned. These officers are normally based in Shetland and Aberdeen. The costs incurred in the transportation of officers from Aberdeen to Shetland and back were 990.

Security Passes

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many security passes have been reported  (a) lost and  (b) stolen by staff in his Department by year since February 2004.

Liam Byrne: The number of Home Office passes reported lost or stolen in 2004 was 321. The number reported in 2005 was 292 (lost) and 18 (stolen) and in 2006 to end of June 155 (lost) and three (stolen).

Security Services (Imprisonment)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) former and  (b) current employees (excluding agents) of (i) MI5 and (ii) MI6 have been imprisoned in the UK in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: No current employee of the Security Service or the Secret Intelligence Service has been imprisoned in the UK in the last five years.
	Records are not routinely kept on former employees, but we know of two instances of former employees being imprisoned in the last five years.

Sentencing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many convictions for drink driving resulted in custodial sentences in 2005, broken down by police authority;
	(2)  how many convictions for  (a) drink driving and  (b) each other motoring offence resulted in custodial sentences in each year since 1997, broken down by sex; and what percentage each figure represents of the total number of convictions resulting in custodial sentences.

Vernon Coaker: Data on convictions for drink driving resulting in custodial sentences in 2005 by police force area is not yet available.
	Information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on convictions and custodial sentences for drink driving and other motoring offences as a proportion of total custodial sentences for all offences for 1997 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the following table. Data for 2005 will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Table H: Number of persons( 1)  found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody( 2)  at all courts for motoring offences, by sex and individual offence and as a proportion of all offenders given immediate custody, England and Wales, 2004 
			  Number of persons 
			   Male   Female  
			  Offence  Total found guilty  Immediate custody  Males given immediate custody( ) as a percentage of all persons given immediate custody  Total found guilty  Immediate custody  Females given immediate custody as a percentage of all persons given immediate custody 
			  Total number of persons given immediate custody for all offences = 106,322 
			  Percentage = 100% 
			
			  Total Motoring Offences 132,971 20,224 19.0 13,885 538 0.5 
			
			  Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs: 76,416 2,858 2.7 10,169 125 0.1 
			 Unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) 1,375 103 0.1 193 12 0.0 
			 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 65,405 2,242 2.1 8,650 103 0.1 
			 Driving  failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) 6,706 410 0.4 958 8 0.0 
			 In charge of a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) 377 13 0.0 55 1 0.0 
			 In charge of motor vehicle, with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 1,448 53 0.0 157 1 0.0 
			 In charge of motor vehicle, and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) 800 35 0.0 110 (4) (4) 
			 Failing to provide specimen for initial breath test 305 2 0.0 46 (4) (4) 
			
			  Other motoring offences 56,555 17,366 16.3 3,716 413 0.4 
			 Causing death by dangerous driving 228 213 0.2 13 8 0.0 
			 Causing death by careless driving under influence of drink or drugs 58 55 0.1 4 4 0.0 
			 Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking 10 7 0.0 1 1 0.0 
			 Causing bodily harm 11 7 0.0 2 (4) (4) 
			
			 Dangerous driving 5,169 2,268 2.1 191 38 0.0 
			
			 Failing to stop after accident, etc. 3,900 65 0.1 649 3 0.0 
			 Failing to report accident within 24 hours 1,185 5 0.0 241 (4) (4) 
			 Failing to give name and address after accident 161 1 0.0 21 (4) (4) 
			
			 Aggravated vehicle takingdriving dangerously, causing injury or damage 3,213 1,192 1.1 144 10 0.0 
			 Aggravated vehicle takingcriminal damage of 5,000 or under 1,564 347 0.3 103 6 0.0 
			 Unauthorised taking or the theft of a motor vehicle 5,434 1,135 1.1 313 22 0.0 
			 Theft of a motor vehicle 964 292 0.3 28 4 0.0 
			
			 Driving while disqualified 31,882 11,763 11.1 1,684 316 0.3 
			 Driving after false declaration as to physical fitness etc. 4 1 0.0 (4) (4) (4) 
			
			 Fraud and forgerydriving licence 77 1 0.0 9 (4) (4) 
			 Fraud and forgeryinsurance certificate 337 8 0.0 15 (4) (4) 
			 Fraud and forgeryregistration  licensing 1,533 1 0.0 198 (4) (4) 
			 Fraud and forgerywork records 368 3 0.0 2 (4) (4) 
			
			 Failing to give name and address etc. when required 457 2 0.0 98 1 0.0 
			 (1) These data are based on the principal offence basis.  (2) Immediate custody = Detention and Training Order, Detained under s90-92 Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, Young Offender Institution  Unsuspended sentence of imprisonment.  (3 )0.0 = less than 0.05 per cent.  (4 )= nil.   Notes:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Sentencing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average prison sentence, not including life sentences, was in the last period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The average custodial sentence length for all offences at all courts in England and Wales, excluding life sentences, was 12.9 months in 2004, the latest year for which data are currently available. This figure is published in Sentencing Statistics 2004, England and Wales, (Home Office Bulletin No. 15/05), Table 2.14 and is on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1505.pdf Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile such figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although some figures may be shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown. We have started a programme of work in the Home Office looking at the quality of existing court sentencing data and how this might be improved.

Sentencing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average non-life sentenced prisoners served in the last five years; for what reasons prisoners may not serve their full sentence; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the average length of time served by prisoners on non-life determinate sentences can be found in table 10.1 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003 and 2004, and tables 3.13, 3.14, and 4.11 of Prison Statistics in England and Wales 2000 to 2002. Copies of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library. The figures provided in these tables were drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number. Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, those sentenced to determinate sentences of four years or more are eligible for parole halfway through their sentence. If parole is not granted then release occurs at the two-thirds point of the sentence (or at a subsequent parole review if earlier). Prisoners sentenced to determinate terms of under four years under the 1991 Act are generally released automatically at the half way point of their sentence. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced new arrangements for prison sentences. They apply only to offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. A new indeterminate public protection sentence was introduced. Those offenders judged to be dangerous, and who have committed serious sexual or violent offences, can be kept in prison until the Parole Board judges it is safe to release them. If they have committed less serious offences they may serve a determinate sentence followed by an extended period on licence after release of up to eight years for sexual offences and five years for violent offences. Other determinate sentence prisoners will be released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence. The Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC) has been in operation since January 1999. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria and passing a careful risk assessment, prisoners serving sentences of between three months and less than four years may be released up to four and a half months (135 days) early from prison subject to an electronically monitored curfew normally between 7 pm and 7 am. Information on the numbers of prisoners released under Home Detention Curfew (HDC) can be found in table 10.3 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004.

Sentencing

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether sentences for terms of up to  (a) eight,  (b) 12,  (c) 15 and  (d) 18 years have continued to be imposed since the introduction of unlimited sentences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since the introduction of indeterminate sentences for public protection courts may still impose determinate sentences of any length within the statutory maximum for that offence.
	The indeterminate sentence for public protection was introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and commenced on 4 April 2005. Statistics for the number of determinate sentences of eight, 12, 15 and 18 years imposed since then are not yet available.

Sentencing

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether it is his policy that judges will continue to be required to halve the minimum term when setting the earliest release date for prisoners serving specific sentences;
	(2)  for what reasons minimum terms are halved when setting earliest release dates.

Gerry Sutcliffe: When judges announce unlimited sentences they explain the minimum term that an offender might serve. To calculate this they start from how long the sentence would be if they were setting a determinate sentence and then halve it because only half of a determinate sentence is spent in custody.
	Very few offenders who receive unlimited sentences will be released so early; it is simply the earliest point at which they can be considered for release by the Parole Board.
	We announced last week, as part of the Criminal Justice Review, our intention to consult on how we can make sentencing clearer, and on ending the requirement that judges automatically halve the minimum term for those serving unlimited sentences, and on how they should set the first possible date for parole.

Sentencing

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the impact of the prospect of (i) 50 per cent. and (ii) other sentence reductions on behaviour of offenders in custody; and if he will publish the conclusions of such work.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No research has been carried out on the impact of (i) calculating minimum terms by halving the appropriate determinate sentence, or (ii) any other sentence reduction given by courts, on the behaviour of offenders in custody.

Serious Crime Prevention Orders

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost is of the new serious crime prevention orders.

Vernon Coaker: The regulatory impact assessment accompanying the consultation document on new powers against organised and financial crime estimates the average cost of obtaining one order in a contested hearing will be around 40,000 to the applicant, and, if the proposed subject of the order is on legal aid, at most another 40,000 in legal aid bills. Any appeal hearing against the granting of an order is likely to cost approximately the same again to both the applicant and the legal aid budget.
	We have not estimated the total cost of the new orders, as this will depend on the number applied for.

Serious Organised Crime/Terrorism

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2020W, on Colombia, what the Freedom of Information Act 2000 grounds are for his refusal to provide details of  (a) the duties carried out by UK police officers in Colombia,  (b) the number of police officers based in Colombia and  (c) with which Colombian agencies officers of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency work;
	(2)  for what reasons the operational deployment of police officers and Serious and Organised Crime Agency staff cannot be commented upon by Ministers in his Department; and when that became policy.

Vernon Coaker: It would not be appropriate to comment on the operational deployment of SOCA staff in Colombia due to the discreet and often covert nature of their role. This has been the agreed policy since SOCA came into being on 1 April 2006.

Serious Organised Crime/Terrorism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested,  (b) charged and await trial and  (c) convicted following an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency since its inception.

Vernon Coaker: Since it assumed its functions on 1 April 2006, SOCA has run a number of investigations, some of which it has inherited from precursor agencies and some of which it has initiated itself. It has also assisted others, at home and abroad, in their enforcement activities. In accordance with section 7(1) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, SOCA will issue a report on the exercise of its functions during the year as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.

Serious Organised Crime/Terrorism

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to improve the ability of police forces to co-ordinate activities to combat serious organised crime and terrorism.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 July 2006
	Schedule 10 to the Police and Justice Bill will enable the Secretary of State to confer a new function on police authorities to secure that arrangements are made for (their) force to co-operate with other police forces whenever necessary or expedient.
	In addition, I will shortly be writing to police forces and police authorities setting out the next steps in the light of the decision not to proceed with enforced police force mergers. I will be inviting forces and authorities to consider how improvements in protective services might be achieved through greater collaboration and co-operation.
	I have also dedicated an extra 33 million extra this year and 65 million the year after to expand the police specialist counter terrorism capacity outside London. This is in addition to an extra 30 million this year and 45 million next year for the Metropolitan police. This will help strengthen the police service's intelligence and investigative capability and capacity and complements the additional funding awarded to the security and intelligence services.

Sex Offenders

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sex offenders are  (a) required to register with the police and  (b) registered with the police; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: All sex offenders who meet the notification requirements of the Sex Offender Act 1997, as updated by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, are required to notify certain personal information, for example their address, to the police.
	Following conviction for a relevant offence, a certificate of conviction recording the notification requirement is forwarded to the police by the court. The police will note the requirement on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register. The offender's Violent and Sex Offenders Register entry will be updated when he actually registers and, if he fails to do so as required, he will be flagged on the Police National Computer and followed up accordingly.
	Since 2002 and the introduction of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), details of the number of registered sex offenders in the community have been routinely incorporated into the MAPPA Annual Report for each area of England and Wales. In 2004-05, MAPPA reports, the latest year of publication, recorded 28,994 registered sex offenders living in the community across England and Wales as at 31 March 2005. Further information by area is summarised in individual MAPPA reports which are published annually. The following table sets out the national figure for the number of convictions and cautions received for breach of the notification requirements. The maximum penalty for breach of the notification requirements is five years' imprisonment. Data on the penalties imposed in each case of conviction are not recorded centrally.
	
		
			  RSOs cautioned or convicted for breach of registration requirements, 2001-05 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 682 
			 2002-03 780 
			 2003-04 853 
			 2004-05 993

Sex Offenders

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sex offenders have breached their registration requirements in each of the last five years; and what penalties were imposed in each case.

John Reid: All sex offenders who meet the notification requirements of the Sex Offender Act 1997, as updated by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, are required to notify certain personal information, for example their address, to the police.
	Following conviction for a relevant offence, a certificate of conviction recording the notification requirement is forwarded to the police by the court. The police will note the requirement on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register. The offender's Violent and Sex Offenders Register entry will be updated when he actually registers and, if he fails to do so as required, he will be flagged on the Police National Computer and followed up accordingly.
	Since 2002 and the introduction of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), details of the number of registered sex offenders in the community has been routinely incorporated into the MAPPA Annual Report for each area of England and Wales. In 2004-05, MAPPA reports, the latest year of publication, recorded 28,994 registered sex offenders living in the community across England and Wales as at 31 March 2005. Further information by area is summarised in individual MAPPA reports which are published annually. The following table sets out the national figure for the number of convictions and cautions received for breach of the notification requirements. The maximum penalty for breach of the notification requirements is five years' imprisonment. Data on the penalties imposed in each case of conviction is not recorded centrally.
	
		
			  RSOs cautioned or convicted for breach of registration requirements 2001-05 
			   RSOs cautioned or convicted for breach of registration requirements 
			 2001-02 682 
			 2002-03 780 
			 2003-04 853 
			 2004-05 993

Sex Offenders

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered  (a) sex offenders and  (b) paedophiles are resident in each police authority area.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since 2002 and the introduction of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), details of the number of registered sex offenders in the community has been routinely incorporated into the MAPPA Annual Report for each police/probation area of England and Wales. The data are not broken down by victim age. The following table gives the total number of registered sex offenders living in each area as at 31 March 2005 as published in the MAPPA reports. Data from the City of London and the Metropolitan police are pooled under London.
	
		
			  Area  Registered sex offenders in the community as at 31 March 2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 674 
			 Bedfordshire 335 
			 Cambridgeshire 353 
			 Cheshire 474 
			 County Durham 306 
			 Cumbria 253 
			 Derbyshire 554 
			 Devon and Cornwall 808 
			 Dorset 352 
			 Dyfed-Powys 275 
			 Essex 680 
			 Gloucestershire 284 
			 Greater Manchester 1,800 
			 Gwent 365 
			 Hampshire 1,035 
			 Hertfordshire 328 
			 Humberside 645 
			 Kent 954 
			 Lancashire 980 
			 Leicestershire 508 
			 Lincolnshire 380 
			 London 2,657 
			 Merseyside 941 
			 Norfolk 547 
			 North Wales 389 
			 North Yorkshire 315 
			 Northamptonshire 310 
			 Northumbria. 851 
			 Nottinghamshire 708 
			 South Wales 765 
			 South Yorkshire 911 
			 Staffordshire 538 
			 Suffolk 368 
			 Surrey 371 
			 Sussex 752 
			 Teesside 393 
			 Thames Valley 822 
			 Warwickshire 231 
			 West Mercia 689 
			 West Midlands 2,158 
			 West Yorkshire 1,669 
			 Wiltshire 266

Sex Offenders

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce procedures for checking whether candidates for public office as councillors and hon. Members are on the Sex Offenders Register.

Vernon Coaker: There are no plans to introduce procedures to check whether candidates for public office are subject to the notification requirements of part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which are often known as the sex offenders register.
	The notification requirements serve a specific purpose: to ensure that the police are kept informed of convicted and cautioned sex offenders' personal details by obliging offenders to notify information to the police, notify the police of any changes to that information and re-confirm their details at least once a year. This is to assist the police and probation services in the management of any risks offenders may pose and in the detection of sexual crime. They do not exist to punish offenders or bar them from certain occupations or posts.
	Under the Local Government Act 1972, however, an individual will be disqualified from being a local councillor if he receives a conviction carrying a prison sentence of over three months (suspended or not) if convicted of an offence within five years before election. Similarly, under the Representation of the People Act 1981, a person found guilty and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained for more than one year is disqualified from membership of the House of Commons while detained in pursuance of the sentence.
	Moreover, the fact that a sex offender is a councillor or MP would not relieve the police and probation services' responsibility to manage any risks the individual may pose. They would include in their risk assessments any details of the individual's duties and if it was thought that they posed a risk of serious sexual harm, then the police could apply for a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) to impose prohibitions on the individual's behaviour.

Sex Offenders

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that there are sufficient approved places available to the Probation Service to house sex offenders upon their release.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We are considering a range of options on how the Approved Premises Estate may best meet the demand for places for those offenders who, on public protection grounds, are best supervised in Approved Premises on release from custody.

Sexual Offences

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of sex offences in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005, broken down by offence; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Information held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants found guilty of sex offences in 2004 are provided in the following table. The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which covers a large proportion of the offences listed in the table, only came into force from 1 May 2004. Figures for 2005 will be published in autumn 2006.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for all sexual offences, 2004 in England and Wales( 1) 
			  Offence  Statute  Found guilty 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male of a male under 16. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 143, 144 . 52 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male with a male not included elsewhere. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994 Sec 143, 144 . 1 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male with a female under 16. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 143, 144. 6 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male aged 21 or over with a female aged 16 or 17. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 143, 144. 1 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male with a female not included elsewhere. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 143, 144 1 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery with an animal. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 143, 144. 1 
			 Buggery or attempted buggery by a male aged 18-20 with a female aged under 16. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 12 as amended by Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 S1 1 
			 Indecent assault on male person under 16 years. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 15. 277 
			 Indecent assault on male person 16 years or over. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 15. 63 
			 Assault on a male by penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.2 1 
			 Assault of a male child under 13 by penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.6 2 
			 Sexual assault on a male. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.3 6 
			 Sexual assault of a male child under 13 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.7 7 
			 Gross indecency or indecency by a man with another male person not included elsewhere. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 13 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec 144. 1 
			 Gross indecency by a male aged 21 or over with a male aged under 18. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sees 12, 13 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 144. 1 
			 Gross indecency by a male aged 18 or over with another male aged 18 or over. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sees 12, 13 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 144. 2 
			 Gross indecency or indecency by a male aged 16 or over with a male aged 16 or over. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 13 as amended by Sexual Offences( Amendment) Act 2000 S.1 4 
			 Gross indecency or indecency by a male aged 21 or over with male aged under 16. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 13 as amended by Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 S.1 1 
			 Man having unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman who is a defective. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 7 as amended by Mental Health Act 1959 Sec 127. 8 
			 Male member of staff of hospital or mental nursing home having unlawful sexual intercourse with female patient. Mental Health Act 1959 Sec 128(1)(a). 1 
			 Rape of a female aged under 16. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 275 
			 Rape of a female aged 16 or over. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 325 
			 Rape of a male aged under 16. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 28 
			 Rape of a male aged 16 or over Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 10 
			 Attempted rape of a female aged under 16 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 41 
			 Attempted rape of a female aged 16 or over Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 47 
			 Attempted rape of a male aged under 16. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 7 
			 Attempted rape of a male aged 16 or over Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 2 
			 Rape of a female child under 13 by a male Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 5 
			 Rape of a male child under 13 by a male Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 1 
			 Attempted rape of a male child under 13 by a male Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 1 
			 Indecent assault on females under 16 years of age. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 14 as amended by Indecency with Children Act 1960 Sec 2. 1,225 
			 Indecent assault on females aged 16 years or over. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 14. 810 
			 Assault on a female by penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.2 18 
			 Assault of a female child under 13 by penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.6 7 
			 Sexual assault on a female. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.3 158 
			 Sexual assault of a female child under 13 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.7 34 
			 Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 5. 9 
			 Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 Sexual offences Act 1956 S.5 53 
			 Causing or Inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activitypenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8(1)(2) 1 
			 Causing or Inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activityno penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8(1)(3) 1 
			 Causing or Inciting a male child under 13 to engage in sexual activitypenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8 (1 )(2) 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 13offender aged 18 or overpenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(2) 2 
			 Sexual activity with a male child under 13offender aged 18 or overpenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(2) 1 
			 Causing or Inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity offender aged 18 or overpenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 10(1,a,b,c(ii))(2) 1 
			 Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13 (offender aged 18 or over) Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 11(1 a,b,c,d(ii))(2) 6 
			 Causing a child under 13 to watch a sexual act (offender aged 18 or over) Sexual Offences Act 2003 S12 (1 a,b,c(ii))(2) 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 13offender aged under 18 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(2)  S13 3 
			 Sexual activity with a male child under 13offender aged under 18 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(2)  S13 1 
			 Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13offender under 18 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 11(1 a,b,c,d(ii))(2)  S13 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 13offender aged 18 or overno penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(3) 5 
			 Sexual activity with a male child under 13offender aged under 18no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1a,b,cii)(3)  13 3 
			 Causing or Inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity offender aged under 18no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 10(1 ,a,b,c(ii))(3)  13 1 
			 Causing or Inciting a male child under 13 to engage in sexual activity offender aged under18no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 10(1,a,b,c(ii))(3)  13 2 
			 Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 6. 70 
			 Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.6 158 
			 Causing a female person to engage in sexual activity without consentpenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.4(1-4) 1 
			 Causing a male person to engage in sexual activity without consentpenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.4(1-4) 1 
			 Causing a female person to engage in sexual activity without consentno penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.4(1-3,5) 2 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 16 (offender aged 18 or over) penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a,b,ci)(2) 38 
			 Sexual activity with a male child under 16 (offender aged 18 or over)penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a,b,ci)(2) 2 
			 Causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity (offender aged 18 or over)penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.10(1a,b,ci)(2) 3 
			 Causing or inciting a male child under 16 to engage in sexual activity (offender aged 18 or over)penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 10(1a,b,ci)(2) 2 
			 Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 (offender aged 18 or over) Sexual Offences Act 2003 S 11(1 a,b,c,d(i))(2) 5 
			 Causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act(offender aged 18 or over) Sexual Offences Act 2003 S12 (1 a,b,c(i))(2) 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 16offender under 18 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.91,a,b,ci)(2)  S.13 8 
			 Causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activityoffender under 18 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.10(1,a,b,c(i))(2)  S. 13 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 16 offender aged 18 or overno penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a,b,ci)(3) 10 
			 Causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity (offender aged 18 or over)no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.10(1a,b,ci)(3) 3 
			 Sexual activity with a female child under 16 (offender aged under18)no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.9(1,a,b,ci)(3) and 13 1 
			 Incest with girl under 13 years old. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 10, 11. 10 
			 Other incest. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 10, 11. 14 
			 Sexual activity with a female child family memberoffender not 18 or over at time of offence and victim 13-17no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1ei,2-3,5) 2 
			 Sex with an adult relative: consenting to penetration (offender aged 16 or over, relative aged 18 or over)consenting to penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.65 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child family memberoffender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1eii,2-4a,6) 1 
			 Sexual activity with a female child family memberoffender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim 13-17no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1 ei,2-4b) 4 
			 Sexual activity with a female child family memberoffender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1eii,2-4b) 1 
			 Sexual activity with a male child family memberoffender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S25(1eii,2-4b) 1 
			 Inciting a female child family member to engage in sexual activityoffender aged 18 or over at time of offence and victim under 13no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S26 (1eii,2-4b ) 1 
			 Procuring female for immoral purposes or using drugs to obtain or facilitate sexual intercourse. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sees 2, 3, 4, 22 and 23. 1 
			 Man living on earnings of prostitution or exercising control over prostitute. Woman for purpose of gain, exercising control over prostitute. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 30, Sec 31. 36 
			 Man procuring an act of buggery between two other men. Sexual Offences Act 1967 Sec 4(1). 1 
			 Man or woman living wholly or in part on the earnings of male prostitution. Sexual Offences Act 1967 Sec 5(1). 4 
			 Causing or inciting prostitution for gain Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.52 1 
			 Keeping a brothel used for prostitution Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.33A as added by Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.55 4 
			 Abduction of unmarried girl under 16. Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 20. 4 
			 Bigamy. Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sec 57. 22 
			 Man soliciting or importuning in a public place for immoral purposes . Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sec 32 . 3 
			 Sexual activity with a female person with a mental disorder impeding choicepenetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.30(1-3) 1 
			 Arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. Sexual Offences Act 2003 S14 1 
			 Controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornographychild 13-17 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.49(1a,bi,2) 1 
			 Abuse of position of trustsexual intercourse. Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 SS.3a and 4. 6 
			 Abuse of position of trustsexual activity other than Sexual intercourse. Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 SS.3b and 4. 6 
			 Failure to notify police of name or names Sex Offenders Act 1997 S.3 (1) (a) 65 
			 Failure to notify police of home address Sex Offenders Act 1997 S.3 (1) (a) 312 
			 Notifying police with false information as to name or names Sex Offenders Act 1997 S.3 (1) (b) c 
			 Notifying police with false information as to home address Sex Offenders Act 1997 S.3 (1) (b) 8 
			 Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with a female child. (Offender is aged 18 or over and victim is 13-17) Sexual Offences Act 2003 S16(1ei,2-5) 3 
			 Gross indecency with children (with boys). Indecency with Children Act 1960 Sec 1. 67 
			 Gross indecency with children (with girls). Indecency with Children Act 1960 Sec 1 . 173 
			 Meeting a female child following sexual grooming etc. (Offender is aged 18 or over and victim is under 16) Sexual Offences Act 2003 S15 3 
			 Administering a substance with intent Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.61 2 
			 Committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.62 4 
			 Exposure Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.66 175 
			 Voyeurism Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.67 15 
			 Total  4,785 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Sexual Offences

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rate for  (a) rape and  (b) other sexual offences was in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is given in the following tables.
	Since 1997 there have been a number of significant changes to the way that sex offences are defined and recorded by the police. These make it impossible to compare in a direct way recent figures with those from earlier years. Changes include:
	(i) A revision to the counting rules for recorded crime and the expanded coverage which came into effect on 1 April 1998;
	(ii) The revised detections guidance issued in April 1999;
	(iii) The introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002;and;
	(iv) The Sexual Offences Act 2003 in May 2004, which altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences, in particular, indecent exposure is now classified as a sexual offence.
	The existing statistical evidence suggests that both the changes to detections guidance and the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) had a marked impact on the reduction in detection rates for rapes since 1997. The Home Office is currently researching in detail recent changes in detection rates in rape cases in England and Wales, including variation between forces.
	In 2002 the Government published the Rape Action Plan, in response to the thematic inspection into the investigation and prosecution of rape cases. A follow-up inspection took place earlier this year, and its findings and recommendations will be published in the autumn. This will inform us how far the recommendations of the Rape Action Plan have been implemented by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
	Guidance on the Investigation of Serious Sexual Offences was published by Centrex and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in 2005. The guidance presents detailed recommendations for all stages of an investigation, from when the crime is reported to when an offender is identified and charged.
	
		
			  Table 1: Detection rates( 1)  for rape offences by police force area 
			  Police force area  1997  1998-99( 2)  1999-2000( 3)  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03( 4)  2003-04  2004-05( 5)  2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset 86 74 62 43 27 22 21 18 22 
			 Bedfordshire 70 56 43 34 25 29 21 23 23 
			 Cambridgeshire 79 62 56 50 46 29 15 21 22 
			 Cheshire 100 98 87 86 81 48 29 28 28 
			 Cleveland 89 91 73 59 65 41 31 22 38 
			 Cumbria 97 93 91 70 74 64 30 30 35 
			 Derbyshire 93 73 52 38 39 35 33 31 30 
			 Devon and Cornwall 92 89 96 77 49 30 19 26 18 
			 Dorset 94 78 50 36 39 25 17 17 17 
			 Durham 93 95 85 91 n/a 68 71 60 26 
			 Dyfed-Powys 95 91 89 109 76 91 25 35 18 
			 Essex 79 65 64 50 33 32 29 27 25 
			 Gloucestershire 89 69 66 70 57 31 28 29 19 
			 Greater Manchester 85 74 64 58 55 46 32 30 31 
			 Gwent 100 91 92 98 93 80 78 52 40 
			 Hampshire 79 99 65 58 53 41 34 26 21 
			 Hertfordshire 88 96 78 66 62 50 50 38 41 
			 Humberside 65 58 33 37 33 23 20 22 23 
			 Kent 92 85 90 57 56 38 27 22 22 
			 Lancashire 91 83 79 53 47 52 35 37 35 
			 Leicestershire 72 43 37 37 n/a 26 28 23 19 
			 Lincolnshire 124 82 87 67 50 40 28 31 24 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 50 22 100 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 90 78 69 66 53 47 43 35 24 
			 Metropolitan Police 58 32 28 24 27 29 33 25 36 
			 Norfolk 68 94 37 35 36 24 18 21 23 
			 Northamptonshire 96 82 95 70 64 53 37 32 33 
			 Northumbria 85 68 61 50 43 36 30 25 29 
			 North Wales 89 92 85 59 35 26 29 27 25 
			 North Yorkshire 87 105 62 73 59 43 41 41 34 
			 Nottinghamshire 83 55 46 51 36 34 27 36 27 
			 South Wales 99 93 88 91 90 62 53 60 29 
			 South Yorkshire 96 79 88 75 72 40 38 30 24 
			 Staffordshire 86 68 39 38 35 40 32 30 26 
			 Suffolk 74 73 29 36 30 30 26 21 25 
			 Surrey 56 48 45 28 42 32 35 26 32 
			 Sussex 80 55 47 34 35 26 24 15 21 
			 Thames Valley 90 59 52 26 32 27 18 24 22 
			 Warwickshire 79 79 55 52 30 27 19 25 19 
			 West Mercia 91 87 64 56 44 37 35 31 27 
			 West Midlands 77 68 59 53 45 41 32 25 29 
			 West Yorkshire 90 83 76 71 55 42 31 25 25 
			 Wiltshire 96 73 68 31 46 37 41 32 33 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Detection rates( 1)  for other sexual offences (excluding rape) by police force area 
			  Police force area  1997  1998-99( 2)  1999-2000( 3)  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03( 4)  2003-04  2004-05( 5)  2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset 76 68 62 48 33 29 29 22 29 
			 Bedfordshire 70 54 55 57 45 44 29 41 31 
			 Cambridgeshire 71 67 74 60 51 38 32 30 31 
			 Cheshire 94 90 84 87 79 58 49 40 35 
			 Cleveland 77 78 85 81 85 69 60 51 47 
			 Cumbria 90 88 87 86 72 57 51 46 51 
			 Derbyshire 80 79 66 55 66 48 49 37 33 
			 Devon and Cornwall 84 87 90 82 62 48 39 33 33 
			 Dorset 82 75 67 58 53 47 33 31 35 
			 Durham 91 80 93 81 n/a 59 77 69 37 
			 Dyfed-Powys 94 96 95 93 95 91 52 46 48 
			 Essex 68 64 67 57 55 43 40 36 31 
			 Gloucestershire 80 69 72 67 64 42 38 35 34 
			 Greater Manchester 70 72 65 62 58 54 46 30 35 
			 Gwent 95 87 94 91 90 83 81 57 48 
			 Hampshire 79 102 76 66 62 59 44 36 31 
			 Hertfordshire 69 80 72 65 75 54 55 41 43 
			 Humberside 66 60 43 46 38 41 33 30 37 
			 Kent 85 80 78 59 59 49 43 29 32 
			 Lancashire 81 76 75 62 52 61 48 41 44 
			 Leicestershire 78 63 58 46 n/a 35 33 28 33 
			 Lincolnshire 124 84 78 73 68 33 40 41 38 
			 London, City of 74 59 40 38 67 45 35 44 45 
			 Merseyside 81 72 66 69 56 53 47 41 38 
			 Metropolitan Police 62 46 34 33 34 34 35 25 34 
			 Norfolk 91 82 72 51 50 37 46 38 68 
			 Northamptonshire 92 81 84 81 70 53 62 52 39 
			 Northumbria 71 68 58 58 52 51 49 35 47 
			 North Wales 90 93 90 67 58 38 45 42 46 
			 North Yorkshire 77 87 71 74 69 59 54 50 51 
			 Nottinghamshire 76 62 57 47 46 48 46 47 48 
			 South Wales 87 86 84 82 78 59 52 36 34 
			 South Yorkshire 82 84 78 77 67 51 53 38 35 
			 Staffordshire 80 68 37 40 39 55 52 41 36 
			 Suffolk 85 75 72 60 54 57 40 43 45 
			 Surrey 69 110 59 45 45 43 44 34 36 
			 Sussex 76 60 57 48 50 43 41 31 37 
			 Thames Valley 76 61 53 49 44 34 36 29 34 
			 Warwickshire 93 78 62 51 60 48 34 42 42 
			 West Mercia 82 79 69 61 51 49 50 41 48 
			 West Midlands 68 63 60 54 55 44 38 30 34 
			 West Yorkshire 84 74 80 73 67 55 39 32 28 
			 Wiltshire 84 87 68 40 52 42 42 37 41 
			 (1) Offences detected in current year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year, so some percentages may exceed 100.  (2) Expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules came into effect on 1 April 1998.  (3) Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999.  (4) The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.  (5) The Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced in May 2004, altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences.  n/aNot available.

Shootings

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been shot in each London  (a) borough and  (b) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The total number of offences recorded by the City of London and Metropolitan police in which firearms, excluding air weapons, were reported to have caused injury between 1997 and 2004-05 are given in the following tables. Data cannot be broken down to a more local level. Force breakdowns are only available since 1997. Changes in crime recording guidance has meant that data for 2004-05 cannot be directly compared with 1997-98.
	
		
			  Table 1: Crimes recorded by City of London and Metropolitan police forces in which firearms were reported to have caused injury, 1997-98 to 2001-02 
			   Total number of injuries 
			 1997-98 401 
			 1998-99 442 
			 1999-2000 623 
			 2000-01 732 
			 2001-02 985 
			  Notes: 1. There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998.  2. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002.  3. Excludes air weapons.  4. Includes violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.  5. Includes slight, serious (necessitated detention in hospital or involved fractures, concussion, severe general shock, penetration by a bullet or multiple shot wounds) and fatal injuries.  6. By the weapon being fired or used as a blunt instrument. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Crimes recorded by City of London and Metropolitan police forces in which firearms were reported to have caused injury, 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Total number of Injuries 
			 2002-03 982 
			 2003-04 922 
			 2004-05 1,221 
			 Notes:  1. Data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.  2. Excludes air weapons.  3. Includes violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.  4. Includes slight, serious (necessitated detention in hospital or involved fractures, concussion, severe general shock, penetration by a bullet or multiple shot wounds) and fatal injuries.  5. By the weapon being fired or used as a blunt instrument.

Smoking

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for smoking cigarettes on buses with a no-smoking policy in each region in each year since 2001.

Tony McNulty: This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

SO13

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers have been employed by SO13 in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The Metropolitan Police Service for operational purposes do not comment on the number of staff employed in counter-terrorism as to do so may compromise current and future operations.

Soliciting

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for soliciting in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available centrally.

Somalia

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to resume removals to Somalia.

Liam Byrne: There are voluntary returns to Somalia. Home Office and Foreign Commonwealth Office Ministers are actively investigating options for enforced removals to the region.

Special Advisers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid in  (a) salary,  (b) travelling expenses,  (c) subsistence allowance and  (d) removal expenses to special advisers in his private office in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each payband. For information relating to the last financial year I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on Thursday 21 July 2005,  Official Report, columns 156-60 WS.

Staff Misconduct

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations of staff misconduct have been  (a) received and  (b) investigated in each directorate of his Department in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: Pursuant to my answer of 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 422W, it has been brought to my attention that due to a data convergence error two figures contained in the answer are incorrect.
	The number of internal investigations commenced under the Home Office misconduct investigation procedure in IND in 2005 was 182; and in 2006 (up until 19 June 2006) was 90.

Stephen Ayre

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer dated 9 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 216-17W, on Stephen Ayre, whether the Serious Further Offence review of the case of Stephen Ayre is complete; and whether it will be made public.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This review has been completed. This is an internal procedure carried out by the Probation Service to quality-assure its risk assessment and risk management processes. Reviews are routinely shared with HMI Probation who are integral to the quality assurance process. Where it is assessed that an independent review is required, the findings are made public.

Street Crime

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed on average per day in the Street Crime Initiative hot spot areas during  (a) each quarter of 2005 and  (b) the first quarter of 2006.

John Reid: The number of crimes recorded in the 10 Street Crime Initiative areas is given for each quarter in the following table.
	
		
			  Recorded offences in the 10 Street Crime Initiative areas 
			  Period  Number of offences 
			  2005  
			 January to March 702,434 
			 April to June 720,700 
			 July to September 703,512 
			 October to December 716,694 
			  2006  
			 January to March 693,038 
			  Note:  Police force areas of Avon and Somerset, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Thames Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.

Tagging/Control Orders (London)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are subject to  (a) tagging and  (b) control orders in each London borough.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information is not collected about the borough in which people subject to electronic monitoring are located. However, information is available on their location by postcode. In the postcode areas which most closely correspond to the London boroughs, a total of 1,594 people were subject to electronic monitoring at 30 June 2006.
	We are not in a position to provide information about the location of individuals subject to control orders as there are anonymity orders in place protecting the identity of these individuals.

Taking a Stand Awards

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which individuals have received a Taking a Stand award.

Tony McNulty: The information is given in a table which will be placed in the Library.

Talk to Frank

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost has been of the Talk to Frank programme; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The FRANK drugs information and advice campaign was launched in May 2003 and the total cost for the programme over three years to 2005-06 is 14.7 million.
	It is a joint campaign between the Home Office, Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills.
	The campaign offers an all-year-round confidential service for young people and their parents on any aspect of drugs. Since launch, the FRANK helpline has answered over one million calls and made over 40,000 referrals to treatment and support services. The website talktofrank.com has received over 11 million hits and replied to over 80,000 emails.
	There has also been a successful information campaign using advertising and leaflets to educate young people and parents of drug harms, and stakeholder support to encourage targeted interventions with the most vulnerable young people.

Taser Stun Guns

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Metropolitan police has  (a) deployed and  (b) used Taser stun guns since October 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police tells me that Taser was deployed 2,349 times and fired on 19 occasions between 1 October 2005 and 30 June 2006.

Tasker Investigation

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Tasker investigation commissioned by the Prison Service London area office is expected to report; and whether its findings will be published.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The investigation is not due to report back until the end of August. It is not Prison Service policy to publish any internal investigation report. Such reports are confidential, covered by the Data Protection Act 1998.

Tech Clean

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his investigations into Tech Clean and their supply of temporary workers to the Home Office.

Liam Byrne: The investigation into Tech Clean Plc and their employment of the cleaners at Becket House has been concluded. The immigration and nationality directorate is satisfied that the company have acted in accordance with the requirements of section eight of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.

Television Licence Evasion (London)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for television licence evasion in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The requested data cannot be provided for individual London boroughs as the accuracy of the data at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.

Terrorism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many terrorist attacks have been thwarted in  (a) the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police areas of London,  (b) Manchester,  (c) Liverpool,  (d) Newcastle and  (e) the United Kingdom since 11 September 2001; how many (i) males and (ii) females were subsequently (A) prosecuted and (B) convicted of terrorist offences; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: It is not our policy to comment on particular alleged terrorist attacks as these are operational matters for the Police and Security Service. However Countering International Terrorism: The United Kingdom's Strategy (Cm 6888), published on 10 July 2006, stated that the police and the security and intelligence agencies have disrupted many attacks against the UK since November 2000, including four since last July alone. Statistics compiled from police records show that, between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2006, 997 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT). Of those people, 154 were charged with offences under TACT and 79 of these were also charged with offences under other legislation. A further 175 were charged under different legislation. A total of 25 people were convicted under TACT during this period.

Terrorism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sites the security service has identified as primary investigative targets in domestic terrorism investigations in the UK in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: We do not comment on specific investigations whether related to international or domestic terrorism.

Terrorism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested since the coming into force of the Terrorism Act 2003; and how long each was held without being charged in each case in which all proceedings are complete.

John Reid: Statistics compiled from police records show that between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2006 997 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT). The Home Office does not collate information about the length of detention of those arrested in the particular format requested.

Terrorist Deportation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many terrorist suspects detained on national security grounds have been deported since control orders were introduced.

Tony McNulty: Since the introduction of the Prevention of Terrorism Act on 11 March 2005, two individuals who had been detained under immigration powers have been deported on national security grounds.
	In a number of other cases, an appeal against a decision to deport remains outstanding.

Thomas Curtis

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he knows the whereabouts of Thomas Curtis, who was convicted of murder in 1985 and may have absconded from HMP Leyhill in 1998.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The whereabouts of Thomas Curtis is unknown. He absconded from Leyhill open prison in 1998 and as at 19 July 2006 remains unlawfully at large. He is listed on the Police National Computer as being unlawfully at large and is subject to immediate arrest when traced by the police.

Unaccompanied Children

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children born abroad have been placed on the National Register for Unaccompanied Children since it was established; what steps are taken to identify whether these children are the victims of trafficking; and how many children on the register are estimated to be the victims of trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 5 July 2006
	The National Register of Unaccompanied Children (NRUC), which is not a Home Office system, is operated by the London borough of Westminster on behalf of the London Asylum Seekers Consortium.
	It is difficult to quantify the number of child victims of trafficking because traffickers go to great lengths to conceal their exploitation of children. We have no centrally collated data on the numbers of children trafficked into the UK. To help to assess the nature and extent of child trafficking we have commissioned the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to undertake a study, which we anticipate being completed by the autumn.
	The Immigration Nationality Directorate takes its responsibilities towards children very seriously. We are looking at ways to improve the specialist services these children require, including the additional needs of those who may have been trafficked.

Unaccompanied Children

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied minors were admitted to the UK in each of the last three years at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick,  (c) Stansted,  (d) Birmingham,  (e) Manchester and  (f) other UK airports; and how many unaccompanied minors were admitted through UK ports in each year.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 July 2006
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Under-age Drinking

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have taken place for under-age drinking in the London borough of Sutton in each year since 1990.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the number of persons aged 10-17 proceeded against for drunkenness offences in the London borough of Sutton in each year since 1990 can be found in the following table.
	Court proceedings statistics for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006.
	In addition to this, the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme, brought into effect in all police forces in England and Wales in 2004, gives the police powers to issue persons aged 16-17 believed to be committing offences of under-age drinking with a fixed penalty notice. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability for conviction for the offence. It is not possible to identify the number of PNDs issued in Sutton as the data is not collected at that level of detail centrally.
	
		
			  Number of people aged 10-17 proceeded against at Sutton magistrates court for offences relating to drunkenness( 1) ,1990 to 2004( 2,3) 
			   Proceeded against 
			 1990 3 
			 1991 3 
			 1992 2 
			 1993 6 
			 1994 3 
			 1995  
			 1996 1 
			 1997 4 
			 1998 5 
			 1999 4 
			 2000 7 
			 2001 4 
			 2002 4 
			 2003 4 
			 2004 3 
			 (1) Includes offences: drunkenness, simple; drunkenness, with aggravation; person under 18 buying or attempting to buy or consuming intoxicating liquor in licensed premises. (2) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Victim Support

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was granted to Victim Support in each of the last 10 years; and what a real terms change in funding was in each year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the Home Office grant to Victim Support for the past 10 years. In real terms, as deflated by the GDP deflator on the HMT website (as of 30 June 2006), the change in funding is represented as a percentage.
	
		
			  Home Office grant to Victim Support for the past 10 years. In real terms, as deflated by the GDP deflator on the HMT website (as of 30 June 2006), the change in funding is represented as a percentage 
			  Financial year  Home Office grant to Victim Support ( million)  Real term increase (percentage) 
			 1995-96 10.82  
			 1996-97 11.68 4.5 
			 1997-98 12.68 5.5 
			 1998-99 12.68 -2.5 
			 1999-2000 17.50 35.3 
			 2000-01 18.55 4.5 
			 2001-02 25.05 31.9 
			 2002-03 29.30 13.5 
			 2003-04 30.00 -0.6 
			 2004-05 30.00 -2.6 
			 2005-06 30.00 -2.1 
			 2006-07 30.00

Violent Crime

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) murders and  (b) crimes involving violence were reported in (i) Eastleigh, (ii) Hampshire police area, (iii) Southampton, (iv) Portsmouth, (v) Hampshire county council area, (vi) the south east region, (vii) England and (viii) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and what the (A) detection and (B) clear-up rate was in each case.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the tables. Statistics for Eastleigh, Southampton and Portsmouth are at Basic Command Unit level.
	Since 1996, there have been two major changes to the way in which crime is recorded which makes it impossible to directly compare 2005-06 statistics with those from 10 years ago. The effect of the extended coverage and the change in counting rules in 1998 was to inflate the amount of violent crime recorded nationally by more than 80 per cent. while it is estimated that the effect of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 caused a further 20 per cent. increase in recorded violent crime in its first year.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences of homicide and violent crime1996 and 1997 
			   1996  1997 
			  Area  Number  Detection rate  Number  Detection rate 
			  Homicide 
			 Eastleigh 
			 Southampton 
			 Portsmouth 
			 Hampshire police force area 32 94 11 100 
			 South east region 90 82 79 101 
			 England 649 92 696 90 
			 England and Wales 679 94 739 90 
			  
			  Violent crime 
			 Eastleigh 
			 Southampton 
			 Portsmouth 
			 Hampshire police force area 8,394 77 9,710 79 
			 South east region 38,119 78 37,845 78 
			 England 326,387 65 326,993 68 
			 England and Wales 344,766 66 347,064 69 
			  Note: Offences detected in any given year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year and for this reason some percentages may exceed 100. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded offences of homicide and violent crime1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   1998-99  1999-2000 
			  Area  Number  Detection rate  Number  Detection rate 
			  Homicide 
			 Eastleigh 
			 Southampton 
			 Portsmouth 
			 Hampshire police force area 13 108 24 100 
			 South east region 79 92 76 92 
			 England 718 95 731 91 
			 England and Wales 750 95 766 90 
			  
			  Violent crime 
			 Eastleigh(1)   887 83 
			 Southampton(1)   3,314 71 
			 Portsmouth   3,609 76 
			 Hampshire police force area 14,253 86 17,494 79 
			 South east region 62,815 76 73,754 72 
			 England 571,027 64 662,525 57 
			 England and Wales 605,797 66 703,107 59 
		
	
	
		
			   2000-01  2001-02 
			  Area  Number  Detection rate  Number  Detection rate 
			  Homicide 
			 Eastleigh   3 133 
			 Southampton   9 78 
			 Portsmouth   7 86 
			 Hampshire police force area 14 79 32 91 
			 South east region 146 86 111 93 
			 England 810 90 856 83 
			 England and Wales 850 90 891 84 
			  
			  Violent crime 
			 Eastleigh(1) 910 58 974 79 
			 Southampton(1) 3,844 61 3,741 64 
			 Portsmouth 3,791 66 3,420 64 
			 Hampshire police force area 19,280 67 18,753 73 
			 South east region 80,850 65 81,327 67 
			 England 692,552 53 773,897 48 
			 England and Wales 733,387 55 813,121 50 
			 (1) Eastleigh and Southampton Basic Command Units were restructured in April 2000.   Notes:  1. Expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules came into effect on 1 April 1998. The figures in this table are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years.  2. Offences detected in any given year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year and for this reason some percentages may exceed 100. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Recorded offences of homicide and violent crime2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   2002-03  2003-04 
			  Area  Number  Detection rate  Number  Detection rate 
			  Homicide 
			 Eastleigh 2 100 0  
			 Southampton 10 70 5 100 
			 Portsmouth 4 75 5 60 
			 Hampshire police force area 36 75 21 86 
			 South east region 120 78 78 86 
			 England 1,010 88 878 84 
			 England and Wales 1,047 88 904 85 
			  
			  Violent crime 
			 Eastleigh(1) 1,338 66 2,522 47 
			 Southampton 5,005 60 7,461 45 
			 Portsmouth 4,027 62 6,078 49 
			 Hampshire police force area 24,947 67 38,222 49 
			 South east region 105,004 60 126,602 51 
			 England 948,055 48 1,067,295 45 
			 England and Wales 1,004,599 49 1,123,710 47 
		
	
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			  Area  Number  Detection rate  Number  Detection rate 
			  Homicide 
			 Eastleigh 
			 Southampton 2 150 4 100 
			 Portsmouth 6 50 1 300 
			 Hampshire police force area 17 76 10 100 
			 South east region 91 88 76 88 
			 England 827 98 740 90 
			 England and Wales 869 98 765 90 
			  
			  Violent crime 
			 Eastleigh(1) 
			 Southampton 8,080 42 8,653 35 
			 Portsmouth 7,257 47 7,519 39 
			 Hampshire police force area 41,779 49 42,465 44 
			 South east region 147,954 49 155,767 50 
			 England 1,143,970 44 1,163,755 49 
			 England and Wales 1 ,200,991 46 1,220,198 50 
			 (1 )Following a force restructuring, Eastleigh Basic Command Unit ceased to exist from 2004-05.   Notes:  1. The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.  2. Data for England and England and Wales includes the British Transport Police from 2002-03 onwards.  3. Offences detected in any given year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year and for this reason some percentages may exceed 100.

Violent Crime

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes were committed in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The available information is for crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) areas and is given in the following tables. CDRP data are only available centrally from 1999-2000.
	In April 2002, the National Crime Recording Standard was introduced to ensure greater consistency in recording and took a more victim-orientated approach, which increased the crime count, particularly for violent crime. For these reasons, figures over this period are not comparable when they cross the time boundary.
	
		
			  Violent crimes( 1)  recorded by the Metropolitan police for each crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP), 1990-2000 to 2001-02 
			  CDRP  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Barking and Dagenham 3,910 4,545 5,013 
			 Barnet 5,364 5,835 6,422 
			 Bexley 3,595 3,815 4,062 
			 Brent 7,758 8,055 8,381 
			 Bromley 3,908 4,671 4,992 
			 Camden 7,282 7,551 8,328 
			 City of Westminster 12,200 11,397 12,269 
			 Croydon 7,276 8,287 8,685 
			 Ealing 8,715 8,284 9,448 
			 Enfield 5,274 6,217 6,665 
			 Greenwich 7,054 7,120 7,368 
			 Hackney 9,469 8,966 10,081 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,780 5,498 5,845 
			 Haringey 7,313 7,973 8,206 
			 Harrow 3,102 3,147 3,668 
			 Havering 3,046 3,337 3,947 
			 Hillingdon 4,338 4,773 5,679 
			 Hounslow 6,060 6,398 7,119 
			 Islington 7,350 7,218 7,673 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,304 4,444 4,443 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,713 2,860 3,138 
			 Lambeth 12,167 13,156 15,241 
			 Lewisham 6,722 7,250 7,856 
			 Merton 3,358 3,447 3,974 
			 Newham 9,344 9,784 10,383 
			 Redbridge 4,453 4,847 5,182 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,375 2,321 2,580 
			 Southwark 9,943 10,048 11,284 
			 Sutton 2,469 2,393 2,905 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,292 8,105 8,854 
			 Waltham Forest 5,755 6,332 7,424 
			 Wandsworth 6,798 6,580 7,314 
			 Total 196,487 204,654 224,429 
			 (1) The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Violent crimes( 1)  recorded by the Metropolitan police for each crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP), 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  CDRP  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5,329 5,939 6,207 6,321 
			 Barnet 6,597 7,165 8,773 7,928 
			 Bexley 4,098 4,598 4,786 5,045 
			 Brent 8,379 9,552 11,517 10,927 
			 Bromley 5,670 6,100 6,798 6,693 
			 Camden 7,935 8,178 9,505 9,089 
			 City of Westminster 12,352 11,683 12,730 11,760 
			 Croydon 9,957 10,099 10,511 9,960 
			 Ealing 9,325 8,978 9,962 10,216 
			 Enfield 6,964 6,664 6,580 7,003 
			 Greenwich 7,954 8,320 9,394 9,312 
			 Hackney 9,646 9,997 9,669 9,790 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,856 5,701 6,234 6,549 
			 Haringey 8,123 7,887 8,179 9,370 
			 Harrow 3,573 3,620 3,933 4,046 
			 Havering 4,558 4,615 4,792 4,844 
			 Hillingdon 5,847 6,001 6,782 7,439 
			 Hounslow 8,372 8,051 7,776 7,559 
			 Islington 8,436 8,427 9,229 8,760 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,450 4,437 4,382 4,442 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,312 3,901 3,958 3,753 
			 Lambeth 13,752 13,264 13,435 12,566 
			 Lewisham 7,795 8,964 10,048 11,147 
			 Merton 4,322 4,357 4,475 4,493 
			 Newham 10,679 10,936 10,365 11,312 
			 Redbridge 5,892 6,105 6,212 5,512 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,942 2,855 3,120 2,939 
			 Southwark 10,898 11,707 12,223 12,503 
			 Sutton 3,476 3,703 3,956 3,762 
			 Tower Hamlets 9,777 9,664 9,762 9,531 
			 Waltham Forest 7,506 7,926 8,276 9,501 
			 Wandsworth 7,510 7,254 7,706 8,135 
			 Total 231,282 236,648 251,275 252,207 
			 (1) The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Violent Death

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been victims of violent death since 1 January 2006; and how many victims of violent death there were between 1 January and 10 July in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of violent deaths in England and Wales is not collected centrally. Available data relate to offences classed as homicide. The number of offences currently considered as homicide, recorded by police between 1 January and 10 July in each of the years 1996 to 2004-05, are given in the following table. Data for the periods April to July 2005 and January to July 2006 relate to financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07, full analyses of which will be published in January 2007 and 2008 respectively.
	
		
			  Offences currently recorded as homicide( 1,2) , England and Wales 
			  Year( 3,4)  Number of offences 
			 1996 307 
			 1997 330 
			 1997-98 328 
			 1998-99 325 
			 1999-2000 363 
			 2000-01 421 
			 2001-02 415 
			 2002-03 427 
			 2003-04 429 
			 2004-05 447 
			 (1) As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.  (2) Does not include death by careless/dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking.  (3) Calendar years data relate to offences recorded by police between 1 January and 10 July; other years data relate to 1 April to 10 July and 1 January to 31 March within the specified financial year.  (4) This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.

Witnesses

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many witnesses have requested special measures in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not collected centrally.

Witnesses

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of offences of intimidation or harming of witnesses in each year since 2003; and how many of those received a custodial sentence in each year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of people convicted of offences of intimidation or harming of witnesses; and how many of those in each year received a custodial sentence in England and Wales, 2003 to 2004, can be seen in the following table. Court proceedings statistics for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006.
	
		
			  Number of people convicted at all courts for offences relating to intimidation or harming of witness in England and Wales( 1, 2)  2003 to 2004 
			2003  2004 
			 Sentenced   Sentenced 
			  Statute  Offence Description  Guilty  Total sentenced( 3)  Of which immediate custody  Guilty  Total sentenced( 3)  Of which immediate custody 
			 Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994, Sec.51(1) Intimidating a juror or witness or person assisting in investigation of offenders 467 469 211 523 525 259 
			 Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994, Sec.51(2) Harming or threatening to harm a juror, witness or a person assisting in investigation of offences 76 77 34 113 112 56 
			 Criminal Justice  Police Act 2001 S39 Intimidating or intending to intimidate a witness 2 3 2 10 12 7 
			 Criminal Justice  Police Act 2001 S40 Harming or intending to harm a witness 2 2 0 2 2 0 
			  Total 547 551 247 648 651 322 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3 )The sentenced figure can exceed those found guilty, as it may be that the sentencing took place in the Crown court the year after a person was found guilty at the magistrates court.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Work Permits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which work permit schemes are available to farmers for employing migrant labour.

Liam Byrne: The schemes available to UK farmers under the work permit arrangements for the employment of migrant labour are the Work Permit Scheme, the Training and Work Experience Scheme (TWES) and the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS).
	To qualify for consideration under the Work Permit Scheme the job must require a person with a degree or relevant HMD level qualification, or an NVQ at level three and three years relevant experience.
	The TWES arrangements relate to jobs that provide temporary work experience or training requiring a person with either an NVQ at level three or at least 12 months work experience.
	The SAWS enables UK farmers and growers to employ students from outside the European Economic Area on a seasonal basis for up to six months a year.
	Farmers may also employ workers from other European Union countries, subject only to a requirement for those from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic to register under the Worker Registration Scheme.

Work Permits

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many valid work permits issued to workers from each country there were at the latest available date.

Liam Byrne: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Nationality  Valid permits 
			 India 102,730 
			 Philippines 41,079 
			 United States Of America 35,191 
			 South Africa 30,524 
			 Australia 21,044 
			 China Peoples Republic Of 20,830 
			 Zimbabwe 13,802 
			 Pakistan 13,097 
			 Malaysia 11 ,654 
			 Japan 11,371 
			 Nigeria 8,165 
			 New Zealand 7,799 
			 Canada 7,726 
			 Bulgaria 5,935 
			 Romania 5,161 
			 Ghana 4,265 
			 Thailand 4,067 
			 Ukraine 4,003 
			 Bangladesh 3,900 
			 Russia 3,800 
			 Kenya 3,370 
			 Sri Lanka 3,200 
			 Mauritius 3,165 
			 South Korea 3,089 
			 Jamaica 2,626 
			 Turkey 2,359 
			 Zambia 2,207 
			 Singapore 2,090 
			 Brazil 2,079 
			 Nepal 1,978 
			 British National Overseas 1,976 
			 Hong Kong 1,753 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 1,765 
			 Argentina 1,518 
			 Israel 1,358 
			 Egypt 1,179 
			 Mexico 1,103 
			 Lebanon 894 
			 Guyana 889 
			 Poland 864 
			 Iran 863 
			 Belarus 852 
			 Colombia 786 
			 Indonesia 759 
			 Taiwan 735 
			 Malawi 620 
			 Uganda 579 
			 Botswana 557 
			 Cameroon 540 
			 Moldova 527 
			 Jordan 514 
			 Yugoslavia 505 
			 Hungary 491 
			 Croatia 473 
			 Tanzania 448 
			 Sierra Leone 436 
			 Venezuela 421 
			 Morocco 415 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 411 
			 Czech Republic 382 
			 Myanmar 366 
			 Swaziland 359 
			 Saudi Arabia 324 
			 Sudan 322 
			 Kazakhstan 321 
			 Algeria 305 
			 Chile 305 
			 Cyprus 298 
			 Switzerland 297 
			 Vietnam 293 
			 Barbados 292 
			 Libya 289 
			 Serbia 271 
			 Cuba 251 
			 Slovakia 247 
			 Albania 224 
			 Lesotho 224 
			 Namibia 210 
			 Gambia 198 
			 Tunisia 197 
			 Peru 189 
			 Azerbaijan 175 
			 Macedonia 163 
			 St. Lucia 161 
			 Seychelles 153 
			 Iraq 151 
			 Latvia 149 
			 Lithuania 147 
			 Uzbekistan 133 
			 Georgia 132 
			 Palestine 114 
			 Malta 108 
			 Senegal 104 
			 Congo 99 
			 Angola 94 
			 St. Vincent 89 
			 Brunei 86 
			 Kuwait 85 
			 Ethiopia 81 
			 Armenia 77 
			 BosniaHerzegovina 74 
			 Grenada 69 
			 British Overseas Citz. 68 
			 Ecuador 68 
			 Mongolia 66 
			 Dominica 65 
			 Costa Rica 64 
			 Uruguay 64 
			 Fiji 61 
			 Estonia 58 
			 Kyrgyzstan 55 
			 Afghanistan 50 
			 Slovenia 49 
			 Bahrain 47 
			 Oman 47 
			 Bolivia 45 
			 Ivory Coast 44 
			 Mali 43 
			 Dominican Republic 42 
			 St. Helena 40 
			 United Arab Emirates 40 
			 Belize 36 
			 Bahamas 31 
			 Turkmenistan 30 
			 Somalia 29 
			 Yemen Republic Of 28 
			 Samoa 27 
			 Maldives 26 
			 Panama 25 
			 Mozambique 24 
			 Tonga 24 
			 Kosovo 23 
			 Togo 23 
			 British Dependant Terr 21 
			 Antigua 20 
			 Guatemala 20 
			 Paraguay 20 
			 Tadzikhistan 20 
			 Honduras 19 
			 El Salvador 18 
			 Nauru 18 
			 St. Kitts 16 
			 Niger 15 
			 Rwanda 15 
			 Gabon 13 
			 Haiti 13 
			 Qatar 13 
			 Burundi 12 
			 Liberia 12 
			 Palestinian Authority 12 
			 Papua New Guinea 12 
			 Benin 11 
			 Eritrea 10 
			 Mauritania 10 
			 Burkina Faso 9 
			 Guinea 8 
			 Monaco 8 
			 Cambodia 7 
			 Madagascar 7 
			 Montenegro 6 
			 Nicaragua 6 
			 Surinam 6 
			 Andorra 5 
			 Bermuda 4 
			 Bhutan 4 
			 Chad 4 
			 Zaire 4 
			 North Korea 3 
			 Sao Tome and Principe 3 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 3 
			 Vanuatu 3 
			 Burma 2 
			 Comoros 2 
			 Djibouti 2 
			 Soloman Islands 2 
			 Central African Republic 1 
			 Kiribati 1 
			 Laos 1 
			 Western Samoa 1 
			 Total 416,909 
		
	
	Valid work permits refers to all work permits, which are currently active. These figures may not accurately equate to the actual number of work permit holders currently working in the UK as some permit holders may never have entered the UK or may have returned overseas without informing Work Permits (UK). The validity of a work permit varies depending on the circumstances, but may be for a period of up to five years.
	The figures quoted are not national statistics. They are based on provisional management information and may be subject to change.

Work Permits

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether existing holders of work permits who have a right to apply for residency after four years will be required to meet the new requirements of five years on work permits.

Liam Byrne: Existing holders of work permits will be subject to the new requirements for settlement introduced on 3 April. Work permits do not create an entitlement to have future applications dealt with under the immigration rules in force when they were granted.

World Cup

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which matches  (a) he and  (b) other Ministers in his Department attended at the FIFA World cup 2006 in Germany in their ministerial capacity; at what cost to public funds; and with what contributions from third party organisations;
	(2)  what plans  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department have to attend matches at the FIFA World cup 2006 in Germany.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office ministerial team did not attend any World cup matches in Germany, though the Minister responsible for tackling football disorder watched the England v Ecuador match on the screen in the fan park in Stuttgart. His purpose was to observe at first hand English and German police co-operation and the behaviour of England fans.
	No third party organisations were involved with the visit and the cost to public funds was 860 for Stuttgart. All travel and accommodation was arranged in accordance with the ministerial code and travel by Ministers.

Young Offenders

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders there were in  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) England in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of defendants cautioned and found guilty of all offences, under the age of 18, in England (from 1997 to 2004) are shown in the first table. We are unable to provide cautions figures for Milton Keynes as the data is not held at the level of detail required. However the second table shows the convictions for the Milton Keynes Criminal Justice area (the figures will include some offenders who do not live in Milton Keynes but were convicted there).
	Figures for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006 and figures for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  Number of defendants under 18-years-old found guilty at all courts and cautioned of all offences in England, 1997 to 2004( 1) 
			   Found guilty  Cautioned 
			 1997 73,707 96,966 
			 1998 80,608 101,708 
			 1999 84,199 96,397 
			 2000 85,568 90,995 
			 2001 89,369 91,748 
			 2002 88,478 80,635 
			 2003 86,572 85,474 
			 2004 90,174 99,233 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of defendants under 18-years-old found guilty of all offences in the Milton Keynes Criminal Justice Area, 1997 to 2004 ( 1,2,3) 
			   Found guilty( 4) 
			 1997 279 
			 1998 267 
			 1999 265 
			 2000 297 
			 2001 412 
			 2002 336 
			 2003 298 
			 2004 252 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis (2) We are unable to provide data for cautions in Milton Keynes, as the data is not held at the level of detail required. (3) Includes defendants found guilty at the Crown court having been committed by magistrates courts in the Milton Keynes Criminal Justice Area. (4 )The data provided in this table shows all offenders under 18 found guilty within the Milton Keynes Criminal Justice Areait may include offenders who live outside Milton Keynes. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDSOffice for Criminal Justice Reform.

Young Offenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of education was for children and young adults in custody for the year in which figures were last available; what proportion of the total cost of their detention was represented by spending on their education in that year; and what the per capita spending on prison education was in that year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Figures for 2005-06, provided by the Youth Justice Board, show the total cost of custody for children and young people under 18 in the secure estate as 237.8 million, of which 34 million (14.3 per cent.) was devoted to education. An average of 10,375 per custodial place was spent on education in that year.

Young Offenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff were employed in the  (a) private and  (b) public sector in the case of vulnerable and at-risk children and young adults in custody in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: It is not possible to identify separately the staff in custodial establishments who work with vulnerable or at-risk young people.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Accountancy Skills

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if his Department will encourage the Sector Skills Development Agency  (a) to include accountancy within the Financial Services Skills Council remit and  (b) to ensure accounting is covered by the Skills for Business Network.

Beverley Hughes: It is for employers to decide whether they wish to be part of the footprint of a particular Sector Skills Council. The Financial Services Sector Skills Council and the accountancy employers organisations concerned need to reach this decision based on the skill needs of the sector, independent of Government and through ongoing discussions. The Skills for Business network (SfBN) has guaranteed that the 15 per cent. of the work force not covered directly by a Sector Skills Council will receive support from the Sector Skills Development Agency in lieu of a separate negotiated arrangement.

A-levels

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many A level students were taught their subjects by teachers who hold a degree qualification in that subject in the 2005-06 academic year.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Although the number of A level students who took A level examinations in individual subjects is known there is no comprehensive information available giving the level of subject qualification of teachers providing teaching at this level in schools or further education colleges. Therefore no estimate can be made of the number of students that are taught by teachers holding a degree in the relevant subject.
	There has been some research carried out by the Department into the level of qualification of teachers in secondary schools and this is given as shown in the table.
	The following table provides the number of teachers by subject in maintained secondary schools and the highest post A level qualification held in the subject taught, for the latest available year (2002/03). No similar information is available for lecturers in the further education sector.
	
		
			  Teachers in Service: Full-time teachers in maintained secondary schoolsHighest post A level qualification( 1)  held in the subjects they teach( 2)  to year groups 7-13, England 
			   Percentage  
			   Degree( 3)  BEd  PGCE  Cert Ed  Other Qual.  No Qual.  Total teachers (Thousand) 
			 Mathematics 42 ± 3 15 ± 2 9 ± 2 7 ± 1 2 ± 1 24 ± 2 28.2 
			 English 51 ± 3 15 ± 2 7 ± 1 6 ± 1 1 ± 1 20 ± 2 29.4 
			 
			 Combined/General science 62 ± 3 12 ± 2 10 ± 2 4 ± 1 1 ± 1 11 ± 2 28.3 
			 Biology(4) 71 ± 5 7 ± 3 11 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± 1 7 ± 3 5.6 
			 Chemistry(4) 72 ± 5 6 ± 3 12 ± 4 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 7 ± 3 5.2 
			 Physics(4) 63 ± 6 11 ± 4 15 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± - 8 ± 3 4.7 
			 Other sciences(4) 10 ± 6 4 ± 4 5 ± 4 - ± - - ± - 80 ± 8 1.6 
			 
			 French 54 ± 3 7 ± 2 10 ± 2 3 ± 1 2 ± 1 23 ± 3 16.0 
			 German 47 ± 5 6 ± 3 13 ± 4 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 30 ± 5 6.9 
			 Spanish 37 ± 7 8 ± 4 19 ± 6 - ± - 3 ± 2 33 ± 7 3.6 
			 Other modern languages 18 ± 8 - ± - 9 ± 7 - ± - 3 ± 4 71 ±10 1.4 
			 
			 Design and technology(5) 26 ± 3 20 ± 3 7 ± 2 21 ± 3 2 ± 1 24 ± 3 20.9 
			 ICT(5, 6) 13 ± 2 6 ± 1 8 ± 2 2 ± 1 3 ± 1 69 ± 3 18.9 
			 Other/Combined technology(5) 30± 1 0 13 ± 8 16 ± 7 18 ± 9 2 ± 3 20 ± 9 1.6 
			 
			 Business studies 30 ± 5 11 ± 4 9 ± 3 4 ± 2 3 ± 2 43 ± 5 6.5 
			 Classics 33 ± 7 - ± - 2 ± 4 2 ± - - ± - 63 ± 7 1.0 
			 History 57 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 6 ± 2 - ± - 23 ± 3 13.7 
			 Religious education 22 ± 3 8 ± 2 8 ± 2 4 ± 1 2 ± 1 57 ± 4 14.2 
			 Geography 53 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 5 ± 2 1 ± 1 25 ± 3 13.7 
			 Other social studies 35 ± 5 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 2 ± 1 - ± 1 54 ± 6 4.9 
			 Combined arts/humanities/ social studies 5 ± 3 4 ± 2 7 ± 3 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 83 ± 5 5.3 
			 
			 Music 59 ± 5 15 ± 4 5 ± 2 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 13 ± 4 6.3 
			 Drama 25 ± 4 10 ± 3 12 ± 3 6 ± 2 2 ± 1 45 ± 5 8.1 
			 Art and design 54 ± 4 10 ± 3 7 ± 2 9 ± 3 1 ± 1 20 ± 4 9.3 
			 Physical education 25 ± 3 31 ± 3 6 ± 2 13 ± 2 2 ± 1 22 ± 2 21.4 
			 Careers education 2 ± 2 1 ± 2 3 ± 3 4 ± 4 3 ± 4 87 ± 7 1.5 
			 PSHE(6) 1 ± - 1 ± - 2 ± 1 1 ± - - ± - 95 ± 1 61.4 
			 General studies 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 95 ± 2 7.1 
			 Citizenship 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 94 ± 2 9.0 
			 Other   32.8 
			 
			 Total(2, 7) 33 ± - 10 ±- 7 ± - 5 ± - 1 ± - 44 ± - 388.4 
			 '-' = zero or less than 0.5. (1) Where a teacher has more than one post A level qualification in the same subject, the qualification level is determined by the highest level reading from left (Degree) to right (Other Qual.). For example, teachers shown under PGCE have a PGCE but not a degree or BEd in the subject, while those with a PGCE and a degree are shown only under Degree. (2) Teachers are counted once against each subject which they are teaching. (3) Includes higher degrees but excludes BEds. (4) Teachers qualified in combined/general science are treated as qualified to teach biology, chemistry, or physics. Teachers qualified in biology, chemistry or physics are treated as qualified to teach combined/general science. (5) Teachers qualified in other/combined technology are treated as qualified to teach design and technology or information and communication technology. Teachers qualified in design and technology or information and communication technology are treated as qualified to teach other/combined technology. (6) Information and Communication Technology is abbreviated as ICT and Personal Social and Health Education is abbreviated as PSHE. (7) 'Other' not included in total percentages.  Source: Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey 2002. 
		
	
	In January 2006, the Department published a report entitled 'Mathematics and Science in Secondary Schools: The Deployment of Teachers and Support Staff to Deliver the Curriculum'. The research, sponsored by the Department, was conducted during 2005 by the National Foundation for Education Research. Their sample survey found that an estimated 66 per cent. of maths A-level curriculum time was delivered by a teacher with a degree in maths, 15 per cent. by a teacher with a PGCE incorporating maths and 13 per cent. by a teacher with a B.Sc, BA with QTS or a B.Ed in maths. For further mathematics, an estimated 73 per cent. of curriculum time was delivered by a teacher with a degree in maths, 13 per cent. by a teacher with a PGCE incorporating maths and 10 per cent. by a teacher with a B.Sc, BA with QTS or a B.Ed in maths.
	For biology A-level, the study found that an estimated 61 per cent. of curriculum time was delivered by a teacher with a biology degree and 31 per cent. by a teacher with a degree in another (including general) science. For chemistry A-level, an estimated 61 per cent. of curriculum time was delivered by a teacher with a chemistry degree and 26 per cent. by a teacher with a degree in another (including general) science. Finally, for physics A-level, an estimated 53 per cent. of curriculum time was delivered by a teacher with a physics degree and 13 per cent. by a teacher with a degree in another (including general science). For physics it is useful to note that an estimated 17 per cent. of the curriculum time was delivered by a teacher with a B.Sc, BA with QTS or B.Ed in science, and 13 per cent. by a teacher with a PGCE in science.
	The full report can be found at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR708.pdf

Asian Adoptions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance is followed when Asian children are placed for fostering or adoption with other Asian families from different religious backgrounds.

Parmjit Dhanda: The national minimum standards for fostering services make clear that proper consideration should be given to a child's racial, religious, cultural and linguistic background when making any decisions regarding the care of that child. In cases where a child is placed with carers who do not share his or her ethnicity or culture, the standards state that the responsible authority should provide the foster family with additional training, support and information to enable the child to receive the best possible care and to develop a positive understanding of his or her heritage. It is for fostering providers themselves to determine the most appropriate arrangements for doing so. Volume 3 of the 'Children Act Guidance and Regulations' does, however, recognise that
	the religion of foster parents [...] may in some cases be more important than their ethnic origin.
	With regard to adoption, the 2005 statutory guidance on the Adoption and Children Act 2002 requires adoption agencies to consider the child's religious and cultural upbringing as well as any wishes and feelings which the child's parent or guardian may have about the child's religious and cultural upbringing. The guidance also requires agencies to provide the child with counselling, in a manner which is sensitive to the child's religious beliefs.

Behaviour Charter of Responsibilities and Rights

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Department plans to publish a National Behaviour Charter of Responsibilities and Rights as recommended in the report of the Practitioners' Group on school behaviour and discipline chaired by Sir Alan Steer.

Beverley Hughes: The Government have carefully considered the Practitioners' Group's conclusions about a National Behaviour Charter, in consultation with key partners in the education service represented on the Ministerial Stakeholders' Group on School Behaviour and Attendance. The Stakeholders' Group was mindful of the fact that events have moved on since the Practitioners' Group reported, particularly with the clear new statutory framework for disciplining pupils in the Education and Inspections Bill. It was therefore concluded that the role of a National Behaviour Charter might more appropriately be fulfilled through the guidance which my Department is preparing for schools on the relevant provisions in the Education and Inspections Bill.

Buddhism

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 308W, on Buddhism, what factors were taken into account in including the Network of Buddhist Organisations on his list of consultees; what other Buddhist organisations are included on the list; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department will always seek to consult as widely as is reasonably practicable. Factors taken into account include the nature, scale and subject of the consultation. The Network of Buddhist Organisations has 27 member organisations and 25 associate member organisations, from a range of Buddhist traditions, and is one of the groups with which the Department has consulted on relevant issues. The Department has previously consulted the Clear Vision Trust, The Buddhist Society and individual Buddhists.

Capita

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of contracts tendered by his Department were awarded to Capita Group plc. and its subsidiaries in each of the past five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Communication and Literacy Difficulties

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has commissioned on the link between communication disabilities and literacy difficulties in primary school children; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has not commissioned research on this topic for primary school children. However, the Department is currently funding research carried out jointly by the Institute of Education in London and Warwick university (Professors Dockrell and Lindsay) on raising the achievement of children with speech, language and communication difficulties.
	This is the fourth stage of a longitudinal study of a cohort of young people with specific speech and language difficulties who were originally identified by practitioners when they were aged seven. These pupils are now at the stage of leaving compulsory education.
	DfES will publish the final report on the fourth phase of the research in the autumn. The report will, of course, look at how these children have progressed from the primary school stage.
	The first phase of this research looked at the impact of specific language difficulties on learning and literacy in primary schools. Results of this research have been published in journals to inform practice. Other researchers, both in the UK and internationally, have contributed to our knowledge on this issue over the last few years.
	The research in this area also notes the importance for this group of children of aspects like self-esteem. The importance of the home learning environment in children's learning is covered in the answer to PQ 87963.

Communication and Literacy Difficulties

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the relationship between a child's home learning environment and literacy and communication skills.

Beverley Hughes: Research evidence, such as my Department's effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) study, shows that the quality of the learning environment in the home (where parents are actively engaged in activities with children such as teaching songs and nursery rhymes, playing with letters and numbers, and reading to the child) promoted intellectual development, including literacy skills, in children at the end of key stage 1 compared to children whose parents did not engage in such activities. In fact the quality of the home learning environment is a more significant factor than parent's social class and education levels. A review of the literature on parents' involvement in their children's education funded by my Department (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003) also found that such parental activities in the home were associated with early literature and communication and skills development. In addition to the actual activities, the review found that the values a parent has, such as enthusiasm for learning and a positive parenting style, are associated with improved outcomes for the child such as increased self-perception as a learner, more motivation and self-esteem and higher educational aspirations. Further information can be found at www.dfes.gov.uk/research.

Competitive Tendering

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether academies are subject to the same rules as maintained schools regarding competitive tendering.

Jim Knight: Academies are required to comply with public procurement procedures, including competitive tendering and adhere to departmental good practice; in the same way as local authority maintained schools.

Computing Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computer hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in his Department in each month since March 2005.

Beverley Hughes: The chart details the number of purchases by Department for Education and Skills from March 2005 to 28 July* 2006.
	
		
			   (a) Flash drives/Memory sticks  (b) Compact discs  (c) DVD-ROM discs  (d) Laptops  (e) External hard discs  (f) Internal hard discs  (g) Desktop computers 
			 March 31 (1) (1) 2 0 0 2 
			 April 15 (1) (1) 0 0 5 0 
			 May 13 (1) (1) 0 0 0 0 
			 June 10 (1) (1) 0 0 0 0 
			 July 7 (1) (1) 50 0 0 7 
			 August 8 (1) (1) 1 0 0 0 
			 September 16 (1) (1) 48 0 10 0 
			 October 18 (1) (1) 0 0 1 0 
			 November 4 (1) (1) 42 0 10 4 
			 December 17 (1) (1) 10 0 101 2 
			 January 17 (1) (1) 100 0 50 0 
			 February 40 (1) (1) 453 0 0 1,349 
			 March 19 (1) (1) 36 0 1 67 
			 April 7 (1) (1) 0 0 0 0 
			 May 22 (1) (1) 3 0 0 2 
			 June 16 (1) (1) 2 0 15 2 
			 July* 19 (1) (1) 1 0 15 2 
			 Total 279 (1) (1) 748 0 208 1,437 
			 (1) This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many criminal offences his Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department for Education and Skills has created no criminal offences by Orders in Council since 1997.

Departmental Staff (Criminal Activity)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many of his Department's employees have been  (a) dismissed,  (b) suspended and  (c) subject to disciplinary action for criminal activity in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information sought is as follows:
	
		
			   Dismissed  Suspended  Disciplinary action 
			 1997   1 
			 1998 2 2 5 
			 1999 2 8 15 
			 2000 7  16 
			 2001 2 3 7 
			 2002 5  4 
			 2003   2 
			 2004 2   
			 2005 2  6 
		
	
	The Department takes any allegations of criminal behaviour very seriously, and they are investigated under formal procedures either by an HR led team or by a team from our Special Investigations Unit if the claims allege fraud.
	All staff are aware of the standards of conduct expected of them and these are set out in our Staff Handbook. This reflects the central rules in chapter 4.3 of the Civil Service Management Code.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was paid to his Department from the Access to Work Scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget he plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of Access to Work funding for central Government Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Since 2003, the Department has provided assistance for disabled staff from its own reasonable adjustments fund. This fund has assisted over 500 staff. My Department does not collect information about the Access to Work scheme in the form requested centrally and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Drugs Misuse

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is provided for activities to reduce the use of drugs among young people; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department of Education and Skills have contributed 2.6 million for activities to reduce the use of drugs among young people this year. This includes the contribution to the Young People Substance Misuse Grant, Home Office and Department of Health also contribute (PQ ref 82266). The 2.6 million also includes DfES contribution to Frank the Government's drugs awareness campaign, and to the High Focus Areas project which seeks to accelerate progress in reducing young people's drug use in selected local areas.
	DfES also delivers drugs education within schools via PHSE.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Swindon receive education maintenance allowance.

Parmjit Dhanda: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 28 July 2006:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked how many students in Swindon receive Education Maintenance Allowance.
	By the end of June 2006, 1,320 young people in the Swindon area had applied, enrolled and received one or more Education Maintenance Allowance payment during the academic year 2005/06.
	I hope you find this information helpful.

Emissions Trading Scheme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many carbon dioxide emission permits have been allocated to universities; and what the actual emissions were for each university included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in its first year of operations.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect this information.

Enterprise Summer School Pathfinders

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in which locations the enterprise summer school pathfinders will be held; how many pupils have agreed to attend; which business representatives have agreed to attend; what the curriculum will be; what proportion of total teaching hours will be taught by business representatives; and what the total cost will be.

Jim Knight: The Enterprise Summer School Pathfinders are being held across every region in the United Kingdom and the locations are set out in the table. I have also included a list of business representatives.
	Over 1,000 pupils aged 14-16 from a range of schools and colleges will attend the Enterprise summer schools. The curriculum will be linked to the broad objectives of enterprise education but specifically focused on enterprise capability and personal, individual development of attitudes and qualities for enterprise. The business representatives will be present throughout the summer schools and they will be involved in the delivery of the pathfinders, as well as activities such as mentoring. The total cost for the delivery of pathfinders is 2 million.
	
		
			  Location of Enterprise pathfinders and list of representatives 
			   Regions 
			 Scotland Argyll 
			  Glasgow 
			  Fife 
			   
			 Wales Llangattock 
			   
			 England London 
			  West Midlands 
			  East Midlands 
			  South West 
			  South East 
			  East of England 
			  Yorks and Humber 
			   
			 Northern Ireland Enniskillen 
			  Stormont 
		
	
	 Business representatives( 1)
	Middlesbrough Academy
	Aspire
	Middlesbrough Football Club
	Sage
	Walkers
	Shell Livewire
	Cadbury Schweppes
	Birmingham International Airport
	Reels in Motion
	Boots plc
	Centro Transport
	Utilities
	UnLTD
	Gaslight Community Caf
	T.R.E.E
	Belfast Print and Workshop Gallery
	Rosemary Conley (Diet and Fitness Clubs)
	Tesco
	Egg
	Rolls Royce
	Colchester Credit Union
	Colchester Co-operative Society
	Exergy Consulting Ltd.(1)
	Mellon Financial Corporation
	i-10
	John Lewis
	(1) Some of the businesses although have expressed an interest, are yet to be confirmed.

Free School Meals

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children eligible for free school meals live in areas designated as deprived.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested has been provided in the table as follows.
	
		
			  ( 1) Total number of pupils ( 1) Number of pupils eligible for free school meals  Percentage of pupils( 1)  eligible for free school meals 
			 0-10 % most deprived(2) areas 808,102 339,868 42.1 
			 10-20% 719.782 217,319 30.2 
			 20-30% 652,205 146,543 22.5 
			 30-40% 619,431 99,779 16.1 
			 40-50% 603,354 71,814 11.9 
			 50-60% 586,985 51,444 8.8 
			 60-70% 588,640 38,969 6.6 
			 70-80% 585,685 28,649 4.9 
			 80-90% 600,157 21,628 3.6 
			 90-100% least deprived(2) areas 618,598 14,105 2.3 
			 Residence unknown 29,322 6,146 21.0 
			 Total 6,412,261 1,036,264 16.2 
			 (1 )Maintained primary, secondary, special and non-maintained special schools, includes pupils aged 5 to 15 years, solely registered or main registration of dually registered pupils. (2 )The measure of deprivation used is the 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government  Source:  Schools Census 2006 provisional

Further Education Funding

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the statement by the Minister for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning of 16 May 2006,  Official Report, column 248WH, on further education funding, what the real terms change in further education funding was for  (a) 16 to 19-year-olds and  (b) adults for each year between 1997-98 and 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Our investment in further education providers increased by around 48 per cent. between 1997-98 and 2005-06, the latest year for which we have full expenditure data. This increase excludes spending on work based learning/apprenticeships, school 6th forms, adult and community learning and other post-16 learning. Figures also exclude our new Train to Gain programme. We cannot provide comparable figures for young people and adults separately because data are not available on that basis. The annual change for each year from 1997-98 is given in the following table:
	
		
			  FE provider spend 1997-98 to 2005-06 
			   Annual spend (cash)  millions  Real terms increase/decrease on previous year (percentage)  Real terms increase from 1997-98 to 2005-06 
			 1997-98 3,131 -2.7  
			 1998-99 3,101 -3.4  
			 1999-2000 3,300 +4.3  
			 2000-01 3,471 +3.7  
			 2001-02 4,102 (1)+15.4  
			 2002-03 4,400 +4.0  
			 2003-04 4,788 +5.7  
			 2004-05 5,081 +3.3  
			 2005-06 5,590 (2)+7.7 48 
			 (1) There was a significant increase in funding allocated to colleges in 2001-02 (the year in which the LSC was created) compared to 2000-01. This was due to a combination of factors: an increase in full-time equivalent learner volumes compared to previous years, a small increase in non-participation funds allocated to colleges, and a larger increase in capital investment in colleges.  (2 )Based on provisional outturn.

Higher Education

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many further education leavers went on to higher education in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. The figures are limited to students who applied to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS, so they do not therefore cover part-time students or those full-time students who apply directly to higher education institutions.
	
		
			  Accepted applicants to full-time undergraduate courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) 
			  Previous educational establishment  Year of entry 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Maintained school 116,713 119,935 121,595 123,317 133,178 
			 Independent school 30,285 30,293 30,824 31,389 31,835 
			 Further/higher education establishments(1) 112,288 110,083 111,656 112,395 117,848 
			 Other 1,484 3,456 3,889 4,127 4,587 
			 Not known(2) 64,702 67,958 65,978 63,067 72,796 
			 Total 325,472 331,725 333,942 334,295 360,244 
			 (1) Students from further education establishments cannot be separately identified in all years. However, in 2002 its is known that out of 110,083 students entering higher education from further/higher education establishments only 2,627 came from higher education establishments.  (2 )Not all students provide details of their previous school.   Source:  Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Illegal Knives

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to reduce the number of illegal knives being carried in secondary schools.

Jim Knight: In the main, schools are very safe places and the majority of pupils have never carried a knife. It is a criminal offence to carry an offensive weapon on school premises and to assist schools with those pupils who choose to ignore the law, we propose a power in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill to enable schools to search, without consent, pupils they suspect are carrying a knife or other weapon. Where schools have suspicions they can call the police, and should do so if they believe pupils or staff are at risk of serious harm. Schools and local police can agree a Safer School Partnership to prevent crime in and around a school. Programmes to improve behaviour; curriculum opportunities for learning about responsibility, conflict, and safety, and other DfES programmes for young people and parenting also help.

Integrated Children's System Database

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on the Integrated Children's System database; and how much is budgeted for  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities will receive a total of 60 million to develop their electronic systems to support the implementation of the Integrated Children's System. Of this 15 million will be available in 2006-07 and a further 20 million in 2007-08. Additionally over the period 2005-06 and 2006-07 a total of 1.38 million has been budgeted by the DfES centrally from programme expenditure to support the development.

International Students

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many international students were granted visa extensions to  (a) work and  (b) continue studies in the last year.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	I am advised that the number of foreign nationals who were in the UK under any category and were subsequently granted leave to remain as students in the financial year 2005-06 was 128,608. Information on how many of these individuals previously had leave as students is not available without examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
	This information has not been quality assured, and is not a National Statistic. It should be treated as provisional management information subject to change.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the value was of each IT contract awarded by his Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case.

Beverley Hughes: Such information is not held centrally within the Department for Education and Skills. To respond fully would involve an extensive information collection exercise which could be completed only at disproportionate cost.
	However, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children Young People and Families, my hon. Friend for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle) on 13 June 2005,  Official Report, column 192W, and 3 November 2005,  Official Report, column 1314W.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Beverley Hughes: The information as requested is not held centrally within the Department for Education and Skills. To respond fully would involve an extensive information collection exercise which could be completed only at disproportionate cost. However, I can refer the hon. Member to the analysis of the Department's Individual Learning Account (ILA) Programme is given in the report: The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (2003), Individual Learning Accounts, Tenth Report of Session 2002-03 (Ref: HC 544), TSO, London. An analysis of the Department's UK e-University Project is given in the report: The House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee (2005), UK e-University, Third Report of Session 2004-05 (Ref: HC 205), TSO, London.

Literacy/Numeracy Targets

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children in  (a) Houghton and Washington East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area met the Government's literacy and numeracy targets in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Government have set themselves the following Public Service Agreement targets for literacy and numeracy:
	 Raise standards in English and mathematics so that:
	By 2006, 85 per cent. of 11 year olds achieve Level 4 or above, with this level of performance sustained to 2008; and
	By 2008, the proportion of schools in which fewer than 65 per cent. of pupils achieve Level 4 or above separately in English and mathematics is reduced by 40 per cent. and
	By 2007: 85 per cent. of 14 year olds achieve Level 5 or above in English, mathematics and ICT (80 per cent in science) nationally, with this level of performance sustained until 2008; and
	By 2008: in all schools at least 50 per cent. of pupils achieve Level 5 or above in each of English, mathematics and science.
	The information for Houghton and Washington East constituency and Sunderland local authority (LA) is as follows. In addition national figures have been supplied for comparison.
	 Key Stage 2
	
		
			   Houghton and Washington East 
			   English  Mathematics 
			   Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above( 2) 
			 1997 1,088 604 55.5 1,088 658 60.5 
			 1998 1,124 728 64.8 1,124 675 60.1 
			 1999 1,071 743 69.4 1,071 749 69.9 
			 2000 1,076 793 73.7 1,076 786 73.0 
			 2001 1,089 812 74.6 1,089 770 70.7 
			 2002 1,143 845 73.9 1,143 840 73.5 
			 2003 1,085 808 74.5 1,085 816 75.2 
			 2004 1,097 860 78.4 1,097 857 78.1 
			 2005 1,040 799 76.8 1,040 774 74.4 
		
	
	
		
			   Sunderland LA 
			   English  Mathematics 
			   Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above( 2) 
			 1997 3,953 2,354 59.5 3,952 2,476 62.7 
			 1998 3,956 2,511 63.5 3,956 2,339 59.1 
			 1999 3,940 2,688 68.2 3,942 2,671 67.8 
			 2000 3,842 2,772 72.1 3,843 2,709 70.5 
			 2001 3,817 2,751 72.1 3,817 2,662 69.7 
			 2002 3,919 2,779 70.9 3,920 2,830 72.2 
			 2003 3,903 2,782 71.3 3,903 2,775 71.1 
			 2004 3,566 2,725 76.4 3,566 2,662 74.6 
			 2005 3,515 2,743 78.0 3,515 2,577 73.3 
		
	
	
		
			   National* 
			   English  Mathematics 
			   Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Number of eligible pupils  Number achieving Level 4 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above( 2) 
			 1997 589.1 373.4 63.4 589.4 366.0 62.1 
			 1998 608.1 394.3 64.8 608.3 356.9 58.7 
			 1999 628.8 443.4 70.5 629.0 434.0 69.0 
			 2000 623.4 466.4 74.8 623.7 446.5 71.6 
			 2001 633.5 474.9 75.0 633.5 447.0 70.6 
			 2002 641.3 478.5 74.6 640.8 469.0 73.2 
			 2003 637.1 479.5 75.3 637.2 462.1 72.5 
			 2004 612.3 474.8 77.5 612.7 453.4 74.0 
			 2005 609.6 481.3 79.0 609.9 457.8 75.1 
			 (*) National figures are in thousands  (1) Number of pupils in all schools, including independent schools, at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) with a valid result, including pupils working below the level of the test (B), unable to access the test (T), took the test but failed to register a level (N) or were absent (A).  (2) Pupils at the end of KS2 are expected to be working at Level 4 within their KS2 tests 
		
	
	 Key Stage 3
	
		
			   Houghton and Washington East 
			   English  Mathematics 
			   Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Number of eligible pupils  Number achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above( 2) 
			 1997 1,300 657 50.5 1,299 699 53.8 
			 1998 1,171 743 63.5 1,178 626 53.1 
			 1999 1,317 735 55.8 1,311 756 57.7 
			 2000 1,244 745 59.9 1,244 762 61.3 
			 2001 1,297 784 60.4 1,303 814 62.5 
			 2002 1,256 818 65.1 1,256 812 64.6 
			 2003 1,231 836 67.9 1,227 866 70.6 
			 2004 1,275 793 62.2 1,272 906 71.2 
			 2005 1,445 1,073 74.3 1,443 1,095 75.9 
		
	
	
		
			   Sunderland LA 
			   English  Mathematics 
			   Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Number of eligible pupils  Number achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above( 2) 
			 1997 3,773 1,960 51.9 3,769 1,923 51.0 
			 1998 3,600 2,103 58.4 3,635 1,873 51.5 
			 1999 3,895 2,335 59.9 3,887 2,127 54.7 
			 2000 3,864 2,361 61.1 3,872 2,258 58.3 
			 2001 3,939 2,517 63.9 3,941 2,385 60.5 
			 2002 3,881 2,409 62.1 3,877 2,364 61.0 
			 2003 3,794 2,461 64.9 3,770 2,425 64.3 
			 2004 3,801 2,431 64.0 3,790 2,603 68.7 
			 2005 3,925 2,712 69.1 3,921 2,761 70.4 
		
	
	
		
			   National* 
			   English  Mathematics 
			   Number of eligible pupils( 1)  Number achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Number of eligible pupils  Number achieving Level 5 or above( 2)  Percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above( 2) 
			 1997 549.2 315.6 57.5 553.9 332.5 60.0 
			 1998 550.8 355.7 64.6 554.6 329.3 59.4 
			 1999 573.3 365.7 63.8 577.1 358.4 62.1 
			 2000 579.8 369.8 63.8 581.0 376.3 64.8 
			 2001 590.1 382.6 64.8 595.5 394.6 66.3 
			 2002 607.7 407.2 67.0 611.7 412.0 67.4 
			 2003 605.1 416.4 68.8 606.3 429.0 70.8 
			 2004 612.9 433.6 70.7 615.7 449.1 72.9 
			 2005 619.0 457.4 73.9 620.9 458.4 73.8 
			 * National figures are in thousands  (1) Number of pupils in all schools, including independent schools, at the end of Key Stage 3 (KS3) with a valid result, including pupils working below the level of the test (B), unable to access the test (T), took the test but failed to register a level (N) or were absent (A).  (2) Pupils at the end of KS3 are expected to be working at Level 5 or Level 6 within their KS3 tests

Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: In the last 12 months, the Secretary of State and his predecessor have made the following visits:
	
		
			  Region  Number of visits 
			 London 5 
			 North West 8 
			 North East 1 
			 South East 2 
			 South West 2 
			 West Midlands 7 
			 East of England 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1

Parliamentary Questions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to reply to question  (a) 81111 and  (b) 81112, on tuition fees, tabled by the hon. Member for Fareham on 26 June for answer on 29 June.

Bill Rammell: I responded to the hon. Member's question (81111) on 25 July. A response to his question (81112) has been issued today.

Primary National Strategy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract between his Department and Capita Strategic Education Services for the purposes of delivering the Primary National Strategy;
	(2)  which directorate in his Department has overall responsibility for overseeing the contract for the Primary National Strategy;
	(3)  how many staff within his Department have duties involving overseeing the contract for the Primary National Strategy;
	(4)  how many people are employed by  (a) his Department and  (b) Capita Strategic Education Services for the purposes of the review of the Primary National Strategy frameworks for teaching mathematics and literacy.

Jim Knight: The contract in respect of the provision of services for the National Strategies, incorporating the Primary National Strategy, is commercial in confidence.
	The Schools Directorate within the DfES has overall responsibility for overseeing the National Strategies contract. There are nine members of staff in Schools Directorate who are engaged in overseeing the National Strategies contract. They are supported by a range of colleagues, within the Schools Directorate and elsewhere, who have policy interests in the services and outcomes of the Strategies' work.
	A team of 12 staff are engaged in the Department on policy matters covered by the Primary and Secondary National Strategies. Six of these staff have worked on the revision of the frameworks as part of their duties, as well as senior managers to whom the team reports. Other staff from outside the team have been involved in reviewing the frameworks, including those responsible for early years education, those responsible for the education of children with special educational needs, and those responsible for contract management of the Strategies' contract.
	Capita Strategic Children Services has a core team of nine of the National Strategies senior staff engaged on reviewing the Primary frameworks. In addition, there has been input from 20 or so educational advisers within the National Strategies, as well as 12 external specialists. The National Strategies has also benefited from extensive engagement with a range of educational partners, professional associations, head teachers and teachers who have all contributed to the development of the frameworks.

Religious Schools

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will bring forward measures to enable any charitable organisation run by a minority philosophical faith group, or groups, whose schools do not receive Government funding due to their small size to set up a single academy with the power to manage multiple schools affiliated to that academy.

Jim Knight: There is no reason why, under current legislation, such a group could not bring forward proposals to establish an academy, provided of course that the potential sponsors can fully meet the conditions required of sponsors and for the establishment of individual academies.

School Dinners

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school children receive school dinners; and how many in each category received school dinners on the same date in 2005.

Jim Knight: The only available information relates to free school meals and is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : School meal arrangement position in January each year: 2005 and 2006 (provisional)England 
			   Primary schools( 1)  Secondary schools( 1) 
			   2005  2006( 2)  2005  2006( 2) 
			 Number of pupils on roll(3) 4,205,670 4,150,590 3,317,590 3,309,720 
			 Number of pupils taking free school meals on the census day 565,830 553,690 335,140 328,750 
			 Percentage of pupils taking free school meals on the census day(4) 13.5 13.3 10.1 9.9 
			 Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals(3) 713,680 666,890 465,520 448,680 
			 Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals(5) 17.0 16.1 14.0 13.6 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.  (2) Provisional.  (3) Includes pupils with sole and dual main registration status.  (4) The number of pupils taking free school meals on the Census day expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils on roll.  (5) The number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils on roll.   Note:  Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  Schools' Census

Secondary Schools

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the next Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey is planned to be carried out.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 10 July 2006
	Subject to suitable contract arrangements, the survey will be conducted in spring 2007.

Security Passes

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many security passes have been reported  (a) lost and  (b) stolen by staff in his Department in each year since February 2004.

Beverley Hughes: The number of staff identity passes that have been reported lost or stolen in each year since February 2004 are:
	
		
			   Number of passes lost  Number of passes stolen 
			 2004(1) 139 9 
			 2005 231 27 
			 2006 184 7 
			 Total 554 43 
			 (1 )From February

Sir Alistair Graham

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster of 15 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1378-79W, on Sir Alistair Graham, what his remuneration was at the Leeds Training and Enterprise Council.

Bill Rammell: The salary of the Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) chief executivethe only executive board memberwas determined by the TEC board on the recommendation of the chairman of the TEC board remuneration committee and the chairman of the TEC board.
	Note 5 of the accounts for the Leeds TEC Ltd. for the year ended 26 March 2000 show total emoluments relating to one director of 99,051.

Sir Alistair Graham

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to Question 80515, how much Sir Alistair Graham has claimed in  (a) remuneration and  (b) expenses in each year since he was appointed Northern Chairman of the Appeals Panel; and how many appeals he has chaired in each year.

Bill Rammell: Sir Alistair Graham took up the post of the Chair of the Appeals Panel for Students with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities for Northern England on 10 March 2002. Since then Sir Alistair has chaired a total of four appeals: two in May 2002, one in December 2002 and one in September 2003. He was paid a 600 fee for each appeal hearing chaired.
	Due to changes in the Learning and Skills Council's accounting systems complete information on expenses claims is not held. However, claims of 76.20 and 94.10 were made for two of the panels.

Sure Start

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many childcare places were created through  (a) Sure Start,  (b) other public provision and  (c) private provision in (i) 2001-02, (ii) 2002-03, (iii) 2003-04 and (iv) 2004-05, broken down by region; and what the occupancy rates were in each case.

Beverley Hughes: The following table contains the total number of new childcare places created in each region in each year from 2001-05. Data on whether places were created through Sure Start, private or other public provision are not available. Data are also not available on occupancy rates.
	
		
			  Region  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 East of England 8,930 9,791 16,528 6,120 
			 East Midlands 5,735 10,607 10,188 4,740 
			 London 10,995 11,215 18,166 14,294 
			 North East 4,579 5,351 8,497 3,081 
			 North West 11,939 11,251 24,507 10,693 
			 South East 14,777 6,976 21,856 13,527 
			 South West 9,906 8,996 9,960 7,213 
			 West Midlands 8,674 10,761 13,054 5,466 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 7,244 12,181 12,107 7,452 
			 Total 82,779 87,129 134,864 72,585 
			  Note:  Data from 2001-03 are provided by local authorities and include both registered and unregistered places. Data from 2003-05 are provided by Ofsted and include only registered places.

Teachers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1462W, on teachers, 
	(1)  what changes the National Assessment Agency has made to the data collection process since the publication of SFR 32/2005;
	(2)  what the cause was of the errors in SFR 32/2005.

Jim Knight: Up to and including 2005, data on non-core teacher assessments was collected as an aggregate value in a variety of formats including paper forms. For 2006 NAA have changed the data collection so that all teacher assessment data including non-core is collected at an individual pupil level. The data is collected electronically alongside core subjects using the Common Transfer File format (CTF). The CTF is the same standard that is used for transferring pupil data from one school to another. The change to pupil level data has also reduced the burden on schools by removing the need to transcribe and manipulate the source data. The NAA supports the Protocol on Data Sharing and Rationalisation in the Schools Sector and recognises a collective responsibility to minimise the burdens of data collection on schools and local authorities and to ensure that data collected is used effectively to support individual learning, whole school improvement and system-wide capacity building.
	Errors can occur at any stage of the data collection process. Our investigations indicate that most of the errors in SFR 32/2005 were in the data supplied by schools or due to data being supplied in the wrong format.

Teachers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1462W, on teachers, how many statistical first releases published by his Department  (a) were found to contain errors following their publication and  (b) had corrections published on his Department's website subsequent to their initial publication in each year since 2000.

Jim Knight: The information requested is shown in the following table for the years 2003 to 2006(1).
	1 The information is not readily available for errors corrected before July 2003 due to the functionality of the Department's website (information on updates and their nature is only stored from July 2003)
	
		
			  Errors and Corrections in Statistical First Releases (SFRs) from 2003( 1)  to 2006( 2) 
			   Total number of SFRs published  Number of SFRs with errors detected( 3)  Number of errors( 4)  Of which, errors were corrected in: 
			  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 2000 59   
			 2001 54   
			 2002 36   
			 2003 42 2 2 0 0 0 2 
			 2004 55 5 6 0 3 2 1 
			 2005 64 6 13 0 0 5 8 
			 2006(5) 39 2 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Total 349 15 23 0 3 7 13 
			 (1) 2003 figures only include errors corrected from 1 July 2003.  (2) 2006 figures only include errors corrected before 31 July 2006.  (3) All errors that are detected in Statistical First Releases are corrected and re-published on the Department's Research and Statistics Gateway  (4) For the purposes of this question, an error is defined as an occurrence where figures have been updated in a statistical first release due to problems detected with the underlying data or with the methodology. The term 'error' does not include changes to figures that are a normal part of the Department's cycle of checking data with providers (leading to provisional, revised and final figures) (5 )Total SFRs published to the 31 July 2006

Teachers

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers employed in primary schools qualified via  (a) a teaching degree,  (b) a one year post-graduate certificate in education course and  (c) other methods in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of newly qualified full and part-time regular teachers employed in nursery and primary schools in each March between 2000 and 2004, having qualified in the previous calendar year, by method of qualification. 2004 is the latest year available.
	
		
			  Newly qualified( 1)  full and part-time regular teachers in service in the maintained nursery and primary sector in each March 2000-2004, having qualified in the previous year, by method of qualification 
			   Undergraduate( 2)  Postgraduate( 3)  Other( 4)  Total 
			 2000 5,410 3,580 160 9,150 
			 2001 4,250 3,650 270 8,170 
			 2002 4,130 4,330 440 8,900 
			 2003(5) 4,010 4,410 1,060 9,480 
			 2004(5) 3,560 4,600 1,620 9,780 
			 (1) Includes teachers gaining qualified teacher status in England.  (2) Degree level routes to achieving QTS, eg BEd.  (3) Includes all post graduate routes to achieving QTS eg PGCE. Also includes those qualifying through SCITTS and the Open University.  (4) Includes employment based routes to QTS and others whose method of qualification is not recorded.  (5) Provisional estimates. (The number of teachers in service for these years may be underestimated due to the late receipt of service information.)   Source:  Database of Teacher Records

Teachers

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average number of teachers who regularly watch Teachers' TV; and what the annual cost was of Teachers' TV since its inception.

Jim Knight: Teachers' TV aims to help raise standards in classrooms by helping to share good practice, support continuing professional development, offer classroom resources, and provide education news and information. The annual cost for Teachers' TV is c. 17.5 million.
	The channel's target audience includes teachers, school leaders, teaching assistants and school governors. We currently estimate that 280,000 households watch Teachers TV on a monthly basis. Of these, almost 90,000 are from the school work force. At least 637,000 people watched Teachers' TV (on digital TV) between launch and the end of July 2005.
	Audience measurement figures for the year ending 31 July 2006 will be published in early 2007.

Teachers

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the value for money of the Teachers' TV service; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Teachers' TV aims to help raise standards in classrooms by helping to share good practice, support continuing professional development, offer classroom resources, and provide education news and information. The channel's target audience includes teachers, school leaders, teaching assistants and school governors.
	The Teachers' TV Board of Governors, an advisory non-departmental public body, meets monthly and its role includes holding the Teachers' TV supplier to account for the public funds it receives via an annual performance review.
	In its annual report, published in December 2005, the board of governors stated that 'at an average cost per viewer per programme watched of 2.70, Teachers' TV is a cost effective way of supporting CPD delivery to the schools workforce'.

Tuition Fees

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the overall cost to public funds of increasing tuition fees by  (a) 1,000 and  (b) 100 if they are deferred until graduation and then repaid over (i) five and (ii) 10 years.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 29 June 2006
	The costs of fee loans (steady state in 2006/07 terms) were published on 10 November 2005,  Official Report, column 22WS. For an average fee of 3,010 the costs would be around 620 million and for an average fee of 3,910 the costs could be upwards of 810 million(1). In each case, we have used our existing assumptions: that a tuition fee loan is available to meet the full cost of tuition fees, that the total cost of providing tuition fee loans over their lifetime is 33 per cent. of their face value and that 80 per cent. of eligible students take them up. These estimates are approximate as significant changes in the fee level would be likely to have an effect on assumptions. The Government's policy is to have income- contingent loans where repayments are tied to salary (i.e. graduates make repayments of 9 per cent. of salary in excess of 15,000 per annum) and the repayment period is not pre-determined, so estimates based on fixed repayment periods of five and 10 years have not been made. The maximum fee cannot be raised by more than inflation until 2 January 2010 and only then with the approval of both Houses of Parliament.
	(1 )Cost estimates rounded to nearest 10 million.

Working Together

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1989-90W, on working together, if he will list the respondents who  (a) agreed or strongly agreed that the Government should attempt to set out a clearer policy for professionals including the health service and youth workers on when to share information with social services and the police to protect sexually active children from harm and abuse and  (b) agreed that there was a case for information always being shared in some circumstances; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

G8 Summit (St. Petersburg)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he made to his G8 counterparts on putting  (a) Darfur and  (b) Gaza on the agenda for the G8 summit in St. Petersburg.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK takes every opportunity to press our international partners about the situation in Darfur and Gaza. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reported back to the House on the G8 Summit in a statement on 18 July 2006, Official Report, column 153. In it he said he had discussed Sudan with several G8 leaders and with Kofi Annan. They agreed that the situation in Darfur continued to be unacceptable and that there was a need for a UN force to deploy quickly.
	At the G8 summit, there were long discussions on the situation in the Middle East, including Gaza. Leaders agreed a statement, which outlines the steps required of both sides to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of violence in the Middle East, and to lay the foundations for a more permanent solution in the region. The UK has pushed strongly for a Temporary International Mechanism to help meet the basic needs of Palestinians. The European Community has committed 105 million to it. G8 leaders decided that the mechanism should be expanded immediately to provide wider assistance to the people of Gaza. We are working closely with the Quartet and others to ensure that this happens.

NORTHERN IRELAND

MI5

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether an agreement has been reached on responsibility for the costs of  (a) operations of MI5 in the Province and  (b) its new headquarters; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 475.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Health and Safety (Temperatures)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what guidance the Health and Safety Executive has issued on the acceptable minimum and maximum temperatures in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school classrooms;
	(2)  what guidance the Health and Safety Executive has issued on minimum and maximum temperatures on school buses.

Anne McGuire: I shall answer both of these questions together and would also refer the hon. Member to the responses given to her questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on 25 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1434-435W.
	The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide reasonable working temperatures for employees in indoor workplaces, including those working in schools. The Regulations are accompanied by an Approved Code of Practice and guidance.
	Since April 2005, the HSE has made available general guidance on temperatures and thermal comfort for all indoor workplaces on the HSE website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/thermal/index.htm. This guidance applies to employees and staff working in schools, but excludes transport such as school buses.
	Minimum temperatures for classrooms are given as 18C in the Education (School Premises) Regulations, SI No2, 1999, which are a responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills. DfES has recently issued guidance about maximum and minimum temperatures in classrooms on the popular questions website: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/popularquestions/ This explains that:
	heat stress and dehydration can be serious problems at temperatures above 35C so that should be regarded as the maximum reasonable temperature for prolonged periods of time in school classrooms. This temperature is above comfort temperatures but healthy children should be able to cope with this if they are given generous supplies of cool water to drink. More sensitive children may experience problems at much lower temperatures and staff need to watch for signs of heat stress at temperatures above 28C.
	We are not aware of any specific guidance issued in respect of temperatures in school buses.

Heat Waves (Pensioners)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Department of Health on the mortality rates of pensioners during heat waves and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: Ministers for both Departments regularly discuss a range of issues of mutual interest. Internal discussions or advice are not normally disclosed.

Post Office Card Account

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the migration process for Post Office card account users to a successor Post Office based account in 2010.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions and Post Office Ltd. are working together with the best interests of our joint customers in mind as we develop our plans to move people from the Post Office card account. Our priority will be to ensure that this is a straightforward process for our customers and to help the Post Office manage the transition from Post Office card accounts to other products. I have regular meetings with Alan Cook (Managing Director of Post Office Ltd.) and other senior Post Office officials to discuss the future strategy.
	Post Office Ltd. is planning a three-month pilot when it will be writing to 10,000 existing Post Office card account customers to encourage them to open one of its new Instant Saver accounts.

Sure Start

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in  (a) the UK,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Dunfermline and West Fife have received the Sure Start maternity grant since 2001.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office. Such information as is available is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for Great Britain 
			   Number of awards 
			 2001-02 201,380 
			 2002-03 232,410 
			 2003-04 237,780 
			 2004-05 235,920 
			 2005-06 237,510 
			 2006-07 (to 30 June) 57,520 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for Scotland 
			   Number of awards 
			 2001-02 17,100 
			 2002-03 19,580 
			 2003-04 19,650 
			 2004-05 19,050 
			 2005-06 18,370 
			 2006-07 (to 30 June) 4,480 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for Fife Social Fund District 
			   Number of awards 
			 2001-02 1,190 
			 2002-03 1,510 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for Fife Jobcentre Plus District 
			   Number of awards 
			 2003-04 1,470 
			 2004-05 (to 31 December) 1,080 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for area covered by Forth Valley and Fife Jobcentre Plus District 
			   Number of awards 
			 2004-05 (from 1 January) 610 
			 2005-06 (to 31 December) 1,720 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for area covered by Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside Jobcentre Plus District 
			   Number of awards 
			 2005-06 (from 1 January) 960 
			 2006-07 (to 30 June) 900 
			  Notes: 1. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency but only by Jobcentre Plus District, and before Jobcentre Plus Districts were used for the administration of the Social Fund, by Social Fund District. 2. The area covered by the parliamentary constituency of Dunfermline and West Fife used to be part of Fife Social Fund District. On 1 April 2003, Fife Jobcentre Plus District was formed by adding part of Tayside Social Fund District to Fife Social Fund District. From January 2005, for Social Fund purposes, Fife Jobcentre Plus District was added to most of Forth Valley and Dunbartonshire Jobcentre Plus District and part of Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway Jobcentre Plus District to form Forth Valley and Fife Jobcentre Plus District. From January 2006, for Social Fund purposes, part of Grampian and Tayside Jobcentre Plus District was added to Forth Valley and Fife Jobcentre Plus District to form Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside Jobcentre Plus District. 3. Different tables thus refer to different areas and so data in one table is not comparable with data in another. 4. Figures are for all awards, irrespective of whether the award was made to the mother or her partner. 5. Some women will have received more than one Sure Start Maternity Grant since 2001-02. 6. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

TREASURY

British Citizenship

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who had newly acquired British citizenship were contacted by the Inland Revenue in 2004-05.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Clostridium Difficile

John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths from clostridium difficile there were in the latest year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 25 July 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths from  Clostridium difficile there were in the latest year for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (88167)
	Special analyses of deaths involving  Clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. These are published in Health  Statistics Quarterly (HSQ) . The latest year for which such figures are available is 2004. Information on the numbers of deaths between 1999 and 2004 involving  Clostridium difficile was published in  HSQ 30 in May 2006.(1) The number of deaths due to  Clostridium difficile is difficult to estimate, the  HSQ article explains the issues involved. The number of death certificates mentioning  Clostridium difficile in 2004 was 2,247 and the number where it was the underlying case of death was 1,245.
	(1) Office for National Statistics (2006) Report: Deaths involving  Clostridium difficile England and Wales, 1999-2004  Health Statistics Quarterly 30.56-60

Consignment Relief

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of low value consignment relief on small businesses;
	(2)  if the Government will abolish low value consignment relief.

Dawn Primarolo: Import VAT is not chargeable on commercial consignments of goods with a value below 18 that are imported into the UK from outside the EU. The Government have received a number of representations from stakeholders on this issue, including small businesses, who have provided information on the impact of the relief. The Government continues to keep this relief under review.

Correspondence

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why there was a delay of six months in replying to the letter of 21 November 2005 from the hon. Lady for North Down on tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: I very much regret the delay in replying to the hon. Lady.
	I asked HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials to let me have a report and to ensure the hon. Lady's constituent continued to receive their tax credits payments in the meantime. I am sorry to say HMRC's report was delayed and I sincerely apologise for not keeping the hon. Lady in touch with what was happening.
	HMRC will write to the hon. Lady again once the problem affecting her constituent's claim is resolved.

Correspondence

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Paymaster General has not replied to the letters addressed to her of 13 October 2005, 21 December 2005, 17 February 2006, 4 April 2006 and 19 May 2006 from the hon. Member for Blackpool South with regard to his constituent Tina Bannister; and when he expects her to do so.

Dawn Primarolo: I very much regret the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letters. I have now done so.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Director of the Tax Credit Office will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 26 May.

Dawn Primarolo: The Director of the Tax Credit Office replied to the hon. Gentleman on 21 July 2006.

Insurance Premium Tax Fraud

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs regarding insurance premium tax fraud.

Edward Balls: The Treasury has regular discussions with HM Revenue and Customs on a wide range of issues.

Long-term Unemployment

Willie Rennie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are in long-term unemployment in  (a) the UK,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Dunfermline and West Fife.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 25 July 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment. I am replying in her absence. (88571)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of long-term unemployed (more than 12 months), resident in the UK, Scotland and the Dunfermline and West Fife Parliamentary Constituency for the 12 months ending December 2005.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the number of people, resident in the UK, Scotland and the Dunfermline and West Fife constituency, who have been claiming JSA for more than 12 months, in June 2006 and as a proportion of the resident population of working age (males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59).
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of long-term unemployed( 1)  persons, aged 16 and over, resident in the United Kingdom, Scotland and the Dunfermline and West Fife parliamentary constituency: 12 months ending December 2005 
			  Area  Number (Thousand) 
			 United Kingdom 310 
			 Scotland 31 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 1 
			 (1) Over 12 months.  Note: Estimates are subject to sampling variability.  Source: Annual Population survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Long-term claimants( 1, 2)  of Jobseeker's Allowance resident in the United Kingdom, Scotland and the Dunfermline and West Fife parliamentary constituency: June 2006 
			  Area  Number  Proportion( 3, 4)  of resident population of working age (percentage) 
			 United Kingdom 150,515 0.4 
			 Scotland 13,459 0.4 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 285 0.5 
			 (1) Computerised claims only. Data rounded to nearest 5. (2) Over 12 months. (3) Proportion of resident mid-2004 population estimates of working age (males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59). (4) Proportion for Dunfermline and West Fife constituency uses denominators based on 2001 Census data adjusted to be consistent with 2001 mid-year population estimates for local authorities.

Office for National Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on legal and other advice given to the Office for National Statistics by Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 2001 and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 25 July 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much was spent on legal and other advice given to the Office for National Statistics by Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 2001. I am replying in her absence. (88258)
	The amounts spent on legal and other advice from 2001 to date are as follows:
	
		
			   Amount () 
			 2001 170,745 
			 2002 200,809 
			 2003 152,696 
			 2004 Nil 
			 2005 2,350 
			 2006 Nil to date

Office of Government Commerce

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when the contract for legal services to the Office of Government Commerce is next likely to be subject to competitive tendering and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many organisations submitted bids for the provision of legal services to the Office of Government Commerce when it was last tendered and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Core legal services are provided to OGC by an in-house team of Government lawyers. OGC has no plans to change this arrangement.
	Some additional legal services are supplied for specific projects within OGC on a case by case basis by external lawyers. These services are procured as and when required in accordance with the procurement rules applicable to the nature and value of the particular contract.
	A contract for the provision of professional legal services to OGC was signed with DLA in May 2003. No new work has been placed under this contract since December 2005. Information on the number of bidders is not available.

Personal Debt

Willie Rennie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average amount of personal debt per person and  (b) total amount of personal debt was in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Dunfermline and West Fife in the last year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 25 July 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on personal debt in the UK. I am replying in her absence. (88440)
	We are unable to provide levels of total personal debt for Scotland or by region. The following table shows estimates for the whole of the UK.
	
		
			  2005 
			million 
			 Total personal debt (end-year) 1,275,740 
			 Average personal total debt(1) (end-year) 26,730 
			 (1) For average per head figures, the denominator is population aged 16+ 
		
	
	The estimates of debt and income are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. Estimates for households alone are not available. NPISHs are legal entities which are principally engaged in the production of non-market services for households and whose main resources are voluntary contributions by households. Examples of NPISHs are charities; relief and aid organisations; educational establishments; Trade Unions; Professional Associations, Political Parties and Religious Organisations, and Sports Clubs and Associations.
	Further data are available from table A64 in United Kingdom Economic Accounts which is available at the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1904Pos=ColRank=1Rank=422

Reading Training for Work Programme

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on the nationwide expansion of the Reading training for work programme in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	The National Grid Young Offender Programme is funded by National Grid. Some small costs are incurred by prisons through providing travelling expenses to the young people on the programme.

Sir David Varney

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  to whom Sir David Varney will report in his role as senior adviser on Transformational Government and what his job description is;
	(2)  what the budget is for the Transformational Government project and what resources Sir David Varney will be able to draw upon from within  (a) his Department and  (b) other Government Departments and agencies to assist him in his work;
	(3)  what the  (a) purpose and  (b) terms of reference are of the Transformational Government project and how its effectiveness in meeting its purpose will be measured;
	(4)  by when the Transformational Government project is expected to complete its work and whether it will publish its findings.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1064-65W.

Smog

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been attributed to smog in  (a) London and  (b) the UK in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths have been attributed to smog in (a) London and (b) the UK in each year since 1997.
	There are no routine data for smog-related deaths collected by ONS.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his latest assessment is of the performance of the tax credits IT system; what availability problems there have been over the last six months; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on outstanding problems with the national tax credit IT system;
	(3)  pursuant to paragraph 3.2 of the Report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration on Tax Credits in June 2005, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the tax credit system is now stable and performing well.

Dawn Primarolo: The performance of the Tax Credit System is continually monitored and is proving to be stable.
	HMRC works closely with its IT supplier to resolve problems as quickly as possible to minimise the impact on claimant.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints relating to tax credits have been received by tax credit contact centres in each quarter since June 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the number of complaints received about tax credit contact centres since April 2004. Information before this date is not available.
	
		
			  Quarter  2004-05  2005-06 
			 1 226 235 
			 2 261 219 
			 3 201 248 
			 4 207 382 
			  Note: Figures from NI are included only from 18 June 2004.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many investigations are ongoing into organised tax credit fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to HM Revenue and Customs 2005-06 Accounts: The Comptroller and Auditor General's Standard Report, Part 2, available at http://www.nao.org.uk/pn/05-06/05061159.htm

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of arrests for tax credit fraud in each month since December 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of arrests for tax credit fraud can only be provided from January 2006 as they were only recorded centrally from that date. The following table shows the numbers in each month since January 2006.
	
		
			  End of month  Arrests 
			  2006  
			 January 7 
			 February 10 
			 March 12 
			 April 7 
			 May 3

Tax Credits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform the tax credits system; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1286, to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field).

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his oral answer of 11 May 2006,  Official Report, column 495, on tax credits, what the evidential basis was for the statement that the vast majority of families are receiving their tax credits at the right time and correctly.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to HMRC's publication Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics: finalised awards 2004-05, Supplement on payments 2004-05 available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-payments-0405.pdf. and to Tackling error and fraud in the Child and Working Tax Credits available on the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/index.htm

Tax Credits

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many instances of tax credit fraud have been recorded in Suffolk in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

Tax Credits

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what average length of time has been taken to process changes in tax credit awards since the new security measures were implemented;
	(2)  what average length of time the Tax Credit Department took to process changes in awards of  (a) child tax credit and  (b) working tax credit in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 July 2006,  Official Report column 364W.

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much has been paid in tax credits to  (a) overseas nationals  (b) non-British nationals of EU countries and  (c) nationals of EU8 countries in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what information is  (a) collected and  (b) held for the last five years on (i) residency and (ii) nationality related tax credit fraud by overseas nationals and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Tax Credits

Ian Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects tax credit application forms to be available through  (a) the national helpline and  (b) Jobcentre Plus.

Dawn Primarolo: They are available.

TRANSPORT

Computer Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computer hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in his Department in each month since March 2005.

Derek Twigg: Tables showing the information, where it is readily available, as requested for DfT(c) and its Executive agencies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. Where the information is not readily available it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Websites

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many websites are owned by the Department other than the official website; and what research is undertaken by the Department on accuracy of information before it refers to external websites in answers to parliamentary questions.

Gillian Merron: In addition to the official DfT website, the Department owns 44 live public facing websites. This figure includes all Executive agency websites (some of which have been incorporated into Directgov/Transport Office or are in the process of migrating into Directgov/Transport Office) and database sites. This figure does not include NDPB websites or the three sites operated by the Air, Marine and Rail Accident Investigation Branches, who report independently to the Secretary of State for Transport.
	In answering past parliamentary questions, we at times refer hon. Members to external websites. Officials will normally check the addresses of any external websites to ensure that they work, and will make every reasonable effort to confirm that the information contained on any such website is available at the time.

Hybrid Engines

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans are in place to introduce low emission hybrid engines into public transport vehicles.

Gillian Merron: While it is not the Department's strategy to promote any specific technology for achieving lower emissions, work continues with our European partners to develop appropriate technology-neutral standards to reduce pollutant and other emissions. Specific decisions on vehicle choice are for the largely private sector companies who operate services.
	Some operators have already introduced hybrid buses into service or are trialling these buses with a view to wider use. For example, 10 hybrid buses are in service on Newcastle's Quaylink service and six hybrid buses are being trialled on London's 360 route.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value was of each IT contract awarded by his Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case.

Derek Twigg: The Department was formed in May 2002. Tables showing the IT contracts awarded by the central Department and its Executive agencies since May 2002 have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Derek Twigg: The Department was formed in May 2002. A table showing the information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Judicial Review

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1071W, on judicial review, where information is held indicating on what occasions individuals and organisations have applied for a judicial review of decisions of his Department; and how  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public may have access to that information.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. The information will be held on the files of Her Majesty's Court Service, of the Department for Transport, and of the Treasury Solicitors Department. Where information is not already publicly available, it is open to hon. Members and members of the public to make a request for information relating to individual cases. Some information is also available on Her Majesty's Courts Service website (www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk) and other legal research databases, although these may be selective and are likely to be confined to cases that proceeded to judgment.

Private Aircraft Security Procedures

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to ensure that passengers using private aircraft are subject to the same security procedures as those using commercial airlines; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Government take a proportionate approach to aviation security. Measures are adjusted to take account of the practicalities of different types of operation. These measures are kept under review.

Railways

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the  (a) technical and financial contracts,  (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and  (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) the Health and Safety Commission and (ii) the Health and Safety Executive relating to railway matters in 2005-06; what the nature was of the assignment for each consultant; and what the value was of work done by each consultant.

Derek Twigg: The  (a) technical and financial contracts;  (b) technical consultants used on call-off basis; and  (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by the (i) Health and safety Commission and (ii) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on railway matters in 2005-06 are set out as follows. All three contracts were let by the Health and Safety Executive:
	
		
			  Nature of the assignment  Consultant  Value of work done () 
			  (a) Phase 2 of research covering the post Hatfield incident investigation into the formation of rolling contact fatigue cracking in a range of rails The University of Newcastle (during this project researchers transferred from the University of Sheffield) 55,000 
			  (b) Follow up research project into initial research to determine tramway wheel and rail profiles to minimise the risk of derailment Health and Safety Laboratory 20,000 
			  (b) Phase 3 of research into the crashworthiness of welded aluminium railway vehicles Health and Safety Laboratory 45,000 
			  (c) None

Railways

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list  (a) the consultants used in connection with the transfer of the Strategic Rail authority to DfT Rail,  (b) the (i) private finance initiative and (ii) public-private partnership external consultants used by (A) his Department and (B) each of its agencies and  (c) the external consultants used by (1) his Department and (2) each of its agencies, excluding public-private partnership and private finance initiative contracts, in 2005-06; and what the  (x) nature and  (y) cost of the work done by each consultant was in each case.

Derek Twigg: Information about external consultants used by the central Department and its Executive agencies have already been provided in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz), on 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1890W, and tables placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Where the central Department and its Executive agencies have used consultants in connection with the private finance initiative and public-private partnerships these tables have been revised to highlight this and placed separately in the Libraries. It should be noted that five Agencies (GCDA, VGA, MCA, DSA and DVLA) did not use PPP/PFI consultants during this period.
	It has not been possible to gather the data regarding the transfer of the Strategic Rail authority to DfT Rail Group. The central Department and its Agencies currently have separate accounting systems. This means that it has not been possible in all cases to provide the level of detail requested in relation to actual expenditure. The central Department and the DVLA have only been able to provide this information in relation to committed spend (i.e. orders raised and contracts awarded during the period in question).

Road Surfaces

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it remains Government policy to resurface all concrete roads with quieter materials by March 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The target stated in the 10 year plan for the reduction of noise from motorway and trunk road network is that 60 per cent. of the network, including all concrete stretches, will be surfaced with quieter surfacing by March 2011. We have a policy of using quieter surfaces as a matter of course whenever a road needs to be resurfaced, but not to resurface ahead of maintenance requirements.
	To date the Highways Agency has resurfaced approximately 30 per cent. of the strategic road network with quieter materials.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

AONBs

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many areas of outstanding natural beauty there are in  (a) Wales and  (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: There are 40 areas of outstanding natural beauty in England and Wales; four of these are entirely in Wales; 35 entirely in England; and also the Wye Valley which is in both Wales and England.

Area-based Initiatives

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which towns in Cornwall have been engaged in the Coastal and Market Towns Initiative; how much  (a) central and  (b) local government funding has been spent on each; and which have completed the process and produced a final report.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows, for each Cornish town engaged in the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative, how much  (a) central and  (b) local government funding has been granted, and the expected completion date for each town's Strategic Action Plan.
	
		
			   
			  Town  Community strategic plan produced/expected  South west RDA funding (central)  MCTA interim funding( 1)  Local authority funding 
			 Bodmin July 2005(2) 60,000 9,984 (3)6,000 
			 Camelford and Delabole November 2004(2) 26,500 0 2,500 
			 Hayle September 2006 60,000 0 (3)6,000 
			 Helston September 2006 55,000 5,000 (3)5,500 
			 Launceston April 2004(2) 50,000 500 (3)5,000 
			 Looe March 2007 43,650 0 4,850 
			 (1 )Awarded to those towns requesting additional support to help with the implementation stage of their plan. (2 )Indicates that the initiative has already been completed. (3 )Informed estimate indicated where data is unknown (it is a stipulation of each grant that a minimum of 10 per cent. grant should be provided by each local authority). 
		
	
	
		
			   
			  Town  Community strategic plan produced/expected  South west RDA funding (central)  MCTA interim funding( 1)  Local authority funding 
			 Lostwithiel April 2004(2) 40,500 8,990 (3)4,500 
			 Mevagissey Withdrawn from initiative 25,000 0 (3)2,500 
			 Penzance March 2007 43,200 0 4,800 
			 Saltash June 2006(2) 30,000 5,000 5,500 
			 St. Ives September 2006 44,611 0 4,957 
			 St. Just December 2006 42,811 0 4,757 
			 Torpoint June 2006(2) 60,000 Will receive 6,000 (3)6,000 
			 Tamar Valley(4) April 2003(2) 103,400 0 Unknown 
			 (1 )Awarded to those towns requesting additional support to help with the implementation stage of their plan. (2 )Indicates that the initiative has already been completed. (3 )Informed estimate indicated where data is unknown (it is a stipulation of each grant that a minimum of 10 per cent. grant should be provided by each local authority). (4 )This MCTI constituency comprises areas within both Devon and Cornwall.

Biosphere Reserves

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many biosphere reserves there are in England; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: In England there are currently three Biosphere Reserves designated under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. They are:
	1. Braunton Burrows (North Devon), designated in 2002.
	2. North Norfolk Coast (Norfolk), designated in 1976.
	3. Moor HouseUpperTeesdale (Northumberland), designated in 1976.
	All three of these sites are underpinned by national and European site protection legislation.
	Biosphere Reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal or marine ecosystems which are internationally recognised under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme launched in 1971.

British Waterways

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what funding British Waterways received from his Department in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07;
	(2)  what funding British Waterways will receive from his Department in each of the next three financial years.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 20 July 2006
	As part of the Spending Review 04 settlement, British Waterways was given an indicative grant allocation of 62.59 million for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	However, following a number of pressures on DEFRA's budget, this figure has been reduced to 55 million for 2006-07. A budget review exercise for 2007-08 is underway which is examining expenditure across the whole of DEFRA.

Carbon Emissions

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps  (a) to co-ordinate and  (b) to implement an integrated approach across Departments to reduce the UK's carbon emissions.

Ian Pearson: The Government already has an integrated approach to tackling climate change. The UK Climate Change Programme 2006 and the recently published Energy Review, set out the Government's plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in respect of the 2010, 2020 and 2050 climate change targets and includes a number of co-ordinated policies and measures from across Government Departments.
	We are also working to set up an Office for Climate Change in the near future that will take up the drive for progress on the climate change agenda. The Office will have an important contribution to make and will be a shared resource, reporting to Ministers across Government.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 5 June from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. D. Edwards.

Ben Bradshaw: A reply was sent on 19 July 2006.

Countryside (West Midlands)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage the preservation of the countryside in the West Midlands.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The West Midlands Region covers an area of 13,000km(2) and comprises two major conurbationsBirmingham, Coventry and the Black Country in the centre, and Stoke on Trent and the Potteries to the north. Around 80 per cent. of the land area is in agricultural or forestry use, with the Region having a greater proportion of Grades 1, 2 and 3 land (Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales) than the average for England.
	The region has four Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), three Environmentally Sensitive Areas, 14 National Nature Reserves, 60 Local Nature Reserves, 19 Special Areas of conservation, one Special Protection Area, 19 Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance) and 439 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It is covered by 26 Character Areas, which describe and define its natural and man-made landscape.
	Approximately 30 per cent. of the agricultural land in the West Midlands is managed under the provisions of agri-environment schemes. There are currently 4,890 live agreements and the annual spend totals 27.63 million. Coverage is increasing annually towards the target of 70 per cent. of the land to be included in entry level schemes by 2008.
	The formation of Natural England, following the Rural Strategy 2004, brings together English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency, and the environment and land-based activity of the Rural Development Service. The new agency will help land managers to improve biodiversity, landscape, access, recreation and sustainable food and farming.
	In the financial year 2006-07, Natural England have offered a total of 890,000 in the form of grants for core funding and projects in the West Midlands. This includes 240,000 from the Sustainability Development Fund to the four Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cannock Chase, Malvern Hills, Shropshire Hills and Wye Valley.
	In 2005-06 the Environment Agency habitat creation projects covered a total of 103 hectares in the West Midlands; these received funding totalling 147,000. These projects form part of the Environment Agency's work on Flood Risk Management. They endeavour to maximise the impact of its investment by protecting properties from flooding as well as enhancing the natural environment, in line with the DEFRA strategy, Making Space for Water.

Departmental Spending

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on  (a) marine nature reserves,  (b) national nature reserves,  (c) national parks,  (d) sites of special scientific interest,  (e) biosphere reserves and  (f) areas of outstanding natural beauty in England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: There is considerable overlap in the geographic areas to which these designations apply. Moreover, funding from a variety of different multi objective mechanisms is available in these areas, in support of all these designations but also for other purposes not listed here. These mechanisms include, for example, the various agri-environment schemes which are funded by my Department, as well as wider funding such as lottery programmes and EU funds.
	Total funding from these sources in support of each of these designations cannot therefore be calculated. However, it is possible to identify the following DEFRA funding via its grant in aid to the different delivery bodies involved, which is exclusively in support of one or more of the different designations listed.
	English Nature's designated sites programme supports its work on Sites of special scientific interest, national nature reserves, biosphere reserves and marine nature reserves. The programme covers the cost of their work associated with these different designations including the management of land owned by English Nature and management agreements with landowners. The spend relating to this programme is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   
			  Financial year  English nature spend  National park and the Broads authority Grant  Areas of outstanding natural beauty grant 
			 1997-98 10,000,000 (1)23,840,000 (2) 
			 1998-99 10,300,000 (1)23,322,667 (2) 
			 1999-2000 12,400,000 (1)25,749,333 (2) 
			 2000-01 13,800,000 25,666,000 (2) 
			 2001-02 17,800,000 27,920,833 5,090,000 
			 2002-03 18,800,000 32,993,854 6,200,000 
			 2003-04 35,000,000 37,159,000 6,500,000 
			 2004-05 40,700,000 35,756,154 7,200,000 
			 2005-06 43,100,000 42,130,000 11,000,000 
			 (1 )These are estimate figures. (2) 1.5 million to 2.0 million steadily increasing to 3.5 million in 2000-01  Notes: 1. All the figures for English Nature include a small element of EU and lottery funding. The figures for years 2003-04 onwards include salary and admin costs. Capital modernisation funding (years 2002-03 and 2003-04) and sheep national envelope funds (years 2003-04 and 2004-05) also received by English Nature have been excluded. 2. Funding for areas of outstanding natural beauty is provided by the Countryside Agency from the Grant in Aid provided by DEFRA. The sums involved are not ring-fenced by DEFRA. The Countryside Agency supplies 75 per cent. of core funding for areas of outstanding natural beauty (80 per cent. for Conservation Boards) with the remainder supplied by the constituent local authorities; and up to 50 per cent. of project costs with the remainder provided by third parties. 3. It is not possible for the Countryside Agency to provide precise funding figures prior to 2001, nor yet for 2006-07. The figures quoted are for the delivery of the full Countryside Agency areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty programme which includes core and project funding, information and publicity, legal advice, the initial set-up costs of creating the first two AONB Conservation Boards and the introduction of a sustainable development fund.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid to his Department from the access to work scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget he plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of access to work funding for central Government Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA does not hold information centrally on the use of the access to work scheme. Managers access the scheme directly and liaise with their local service provider.
	DEFRA is actively considering means by which it can continue to support disabled staff, following the withdrawal of access to work funding from 1 October 2006.

Dogs

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) American pit bull terriers,  (b) Staffordshire bull terriers and  (c) American Staffordshire terriers are owned by residents in (i) the constituency of Hammersmith and Fulham and (ii) England; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The terms American pit bull terrier and American Staffordshire terrier are sometimes used to describe pit bull terriers which are prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Some people have been allowed to keep these dogs by adding them to the list of exempted dogs set up under the 1991 Act. Figures for legally held pit bull terriers, which have been described as American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers are available. However, no records are kept on the numbers of Staffordshire bull terriers as they are not a specified dog for the purposes of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
	The following table gives the numbers:
	
		
			  Legally held dogs under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 
			  Number 
			   Hammersmith and Fulham  England 
			 American Pit Bull Terriers 1 1,067 
			 American Staffordshire Terriers(1) 1 3 
			 (1) For the purposes of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, an American Staffordshire terrier is a pit bull terrier type dog. The figures reflect the type names as provided by the owners.

Dogs

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will undertake  (a) an assessment of and  (b) a public consultation on the merits of (i) encouraging and (ii) requiring dogs to have identifying microchips implanted at birth for the purposes of improving animal welfare.

Ben Bradshaw: The Local Government Act 1988 repealed the old dog licence on the grounds that it cost more to administer than the revenue it produced. Recent information shows that there has been very little change in the population of dogs and the number of straying dogs since 1988. There is no evidence to suggest that the opinion of dog owners has changed and that any new scheme introduced would be adopted.
	We currently have no plans to reintroduce a dog licence, or to introduce requirements for dogs to be microchipped. Responsible dog owners voluntarily undertake having their pets permanently identified and registered on nationwide databases. We also continue to support voluntary identification. The effectiveness of dog licensing was also limited by the fact that in the last year licenses were administered, only 44 per cent. of owners applied for their licence.

Energy Crops

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many tonnes of each category of energy crop were cultivated in  (a) 1999,  (b) 2002 and  (c) 2005; and what estimate he has made of production of each energy crop in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2012;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to promote the cultivation of energy crops.

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the level of energy crops available for biomass energy generation; and what steps he is taking to increase it.

Ian Pearson: holding answers 25 July 2006
	Information on the cultivation of energy crops is only available for crops planted under DEFRA's Energy Crops Scheme. The first plantings were in 2001 for short rotation coppice (which is harvested on a three-year cycle) and 2002 for miscanthus (harvested annually from the second year). Based on actual plantings from 2001-05 and forecasts prepared in 2005 for plantings in 2006-09, based on industry estimates at that time, and assuming average yields of 9 and 14 tonnes per hectare for short rotation coppice and miscanthus respectively, the estimated yields are as follows:
	
		
			  Estimated yields 
			  Oven dried tonnes 
			   Short rotation coppice  Miscanthus 
			 2005 1,700 1,900 
			 2009 18,000 250,000 
			 2012 100,000 500,000 
		
	
	However, actual planting will depend on commercial decisions by growers and is likely to be influenced by the nature of contracts and support which are available.
	The Government currently provides support to help establish energy crops, develop supply chains, and create end-use markets. The Government set up a Biomass Task Force in 2004 to identify the barriers to developing biomass energy, including energy crops, and to recommend ways to overcome the problems. The Government's response to the Task Force report was published in April 2006 and sets out 12 key initiatives and over 60 associated actions to help realise optimum use of biomass as a resource. These measures include agreement in principle to support energy crops under the new Rural Development Programme for England, further grant support for biomass supply chains, a capital grant scheme for biomass boilers, a commitment to consider using biomass in the Government estate, and the establishment of a new biomass energy centre to provide expert information and advice to industry and the public. We also intend to publish a UK Biomass Strategy in the coming year.
	Support for miscanthus under the new Rural Development Programme for England is subject to clarification of issues with the European Commission which remain to be resolved.

EU Food Designations

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many successful applications for the European Union's  (a) Traditional Speciality Guaranteed designation,  (b) Protected Geographical Indication designation and  (c) Protected Designation of Origin status have been made by (i) the UK and (ii) each of the European Union member states since the designation's inception.

Barry Gardiner: The number of successful applications made by (i) the UK and (ii) each of the EU member states for the three designations under the European Union's Protected Food Names Scheme since its inception is as follows:
	
		
			   (a) Traditional speciality guaranteed  (b) Protected geographical indication  (c) Protected designation of origin 
			  (i) The UK 1 20 15 
			 
			  (ii) Other EU member states
			 Austria  4 8 
			 Belgium 5 2 2 
			 Cyprus
			 Czech Republic  3  
			 Denmark  3  
			 Estonia
			 Finland 3  1 
			 France  78 69 
			 Germany  32 37 
			 Greece  23 61 
			 Hungary
			 Ireland  2 1 
			 Italy 1 50 105 
			 Latvia
			 Lithuania
			 Luxembourg  2 2 
			 Malta
			 Netherlands  1 5 
			 Poland
			 Portugal  39 54 
			 Slovakia
			 Slovenia
			 Spain 3 41 56 
			 Sweden 2 2

EU Food Designations

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps have been taken to encourage UK food producers to apply for the European Union's  (a) Traditional Speciality Guaranteed designation and  (b) Protected Designation of Origin status.
	(2)  what steps have been taken to encourage UK food producers to apply for the European Union's Protected Geographical Indication designation.

Barry Gardiner: For a number of years now we have been actively seeking to raise awareness about the European Union's Protected Food Name Scheme and encourage more UK applications. The scheme provides a means for farmers to add value to their produce and market it in a more imaginative way, particularly given consumers' growing interest in food with a clear regional provenance. Promotion of the scheme forms part of our wider strategy of support for the quality regional food sector.
	DEFRA has written to a large number of trade associations and producers to remind them of the economic benefits to producers of achieving protected name status. We have also written to a large number of trade associations and producers to remind them of the economic benefits to producers of achieving protected name status.
	In addition, the Department has held positive meetings with a number of key organisations including the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association, the Meat and Livestock Commission, the British Pig Association and the Milk Development Council to discuss possible applications.
	We have also commissioned research to determine the awareness, perception, and attitudes towards, the EU protected food name schemes among UK retailers available on the DEFRA website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/foodname/reglocal/adasresearchpdo.pdf and contributed to press articles promoting the scheme.
	Finally, we have tasked Food from Britain with working with the Regional Food Groups and producers to raise awareness of the scheme and encourage more applications.
	I am pleased to say that all this effort is bearing fruit. There are currently 36 UK products registered including Stilton Cheese (PDO), Scotch Beef (PGI), Welsh Lamb (PGI), Cornish Clotted Cream (PDO) and Arbroath Smokies (PGI). A further 24 applications are currently being considered.

EU Directives

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are employed on implementing and administering EU directives, regulations and policies.

Barry Gardiner: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed on implementing and administering EU directives, regulations and policies is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

Farm Livestock

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance the Health and Safety Executive has issued on the acceptable minimum and maximum temperatures for the rearing and transportation of farm livestock.

Ben Bradshaw: Responsibility for the welfare of farm animals rests with my Department.
	DEFRA's welfare codes for the main farmed livestock, include advice on maintaining temperatures within limits which are not harmful to farm animals. These are available on the DEFRA website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/on-farm.htm#welfarecodes Similarly, DEFRA has issued guidance on the welfare of animals in hot weather. This guidance is available on the DEFRA website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/heat/index.htm
	There is an obligation on those looking after animals to avoid causing them unnecessary suffering. It is an offence if the welfare of an animal is compromised as a result of a failure to take appropriate action in response to extremes of temperature.

Fisheries Grant

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the fisheries grant was for each year between 2000 and 2006.

Ben Bradshaw: The amount of fisheries grant for each of the years between 2000 and 2006 was as follows
	
		
			
			 2006 to date 680,039.71 
			 2005 5,719,432.56 
			 2004 10,050,612.33 
			 2003 3,398,786.30 
			 2002 7,839,180.08 
			 2001 1,339,029.85 
			 2000 0 
		
	
	This covers payments of grant made in England under the Fisheries Instrument for Financial Guidance (FIFO) and the former Harbour Grants scheme.

Flood/Coastal Defences

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the change in the condition of flood and coastal defences based on  (a) the interim results of the updating of the National Flood and Coastal Defence Database and  (b) the most recent previous estimate of the defences.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency is the principal operating authority with responsibility for flood risk management in England, from both rivers (those designated as main) and the sea, and has assumed responsibility for some 1,800 additional watercourse lengths transferred from other operating authorities over the last three years. The Agency uses the National Flood and Coastal Defence Database (NFCDD) to monitor the condition of its assets, with a review of progress held on a quarterly basis. The frequency of individual asset inspection depends on the level of flood risk involved. A comparison of quarterly figures is as follows:
	
		
			  Asset conditioncomparison of quarterly figures from NFCDD 2005-06 
			   2005  2006 
			   July  October  January  April  July 
			  Defencesagency maintained  
			 Total length recorded (kilometres) 12,155 14,051 15,247 17,969 19,304 
			 Percentage urban in conditions 1 and 2 51 51 54 59 59 
			 Percentage urban in condition 3  43 41 36 36 
			 Percentage in urban conditions 4 and 5  6 5 5 5 
			   
			  Defences3( rd)  party maintained  
			 Total length recorded (kilometres) 7,456 8,479 9,613 9,930 10,972 
			 Percentage urban in conditions 1 and 2 50 44 48 42 47 
			 Percentage urban in condition 3  52 48 54 49 
			 Percentage urban in conditions 4 and 5  4 4 4 4 
			   
			  Structuresagency maintained  
			 Total number recorded 13,140 13,783 13,967 14,304 14,941 
			 Percentage urban in conditions 1 and 2 75 74 77 76 75 
			 Percentage urban in condition 3  21 19 20 21 
			 Percentage in urban conditions 4 and 5  4 4 4 4 
			   
			  Structures3( rd)  party maintained  
			 Total number recorded 29,371 29,130 29,177 27,997 26,538 
			 Percentage urban in conditions 1 and 2 56 56 56 59 59 
			 Percentage urban in condition 3  37 37 34 34 
			 Percentage in urban conditions 4 and 5  7 7 7 7 
			  Notes:  Condition Grade: 1 = Very good, fully serviceable (no remedial work required). 2 = Good, minor defects (minor routine maintenance work required). 3 = Fair, some cause for concern, requires monitoring (significant maintenance work required). 4 = Poor, structurally unsound now or in near future (major remedial works required). 5 = Very poor, completely failed or derelict (requires complete reconstruction). 3(rd) party maintained assets are those on main rivers or the sea which are maintained by parties other than the Environment Agency such as other operating authorities, riparian owners etcetera. 
		
	
	Under DEFRA's High Level Target 2, the other operating authorities are responsible for ensuring that inspections of their assets are carried out and the results recorded on the NFCDD. Defra has not carried out any assessment of the results of these inspections.

Free Sat

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the BBC's development of Free Sat on affordable television reception in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Department has made no such assessment. The proposed BBC Free Sat is a very helpful development. It will give greater choice to consumers, both before and after digital switchover. It is particularly attractive to homes not currently served by digital terrestrial television in rural areas who have limited choice.

Genetic Use Restriction Technologies

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what criteria will be used to assess whether appropriate scientific data is available in relation to the field testing of products incorporating Genetic Use Restriction Technologies; and who will be responsible for making the assessment;
	(2)  what criteria will be used to assess whether appropriate scientific assessment of the ecological and socio-economic impacts of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies has been carried out; and who will make that decision;
	(3)  what criteria will be used to determine that the conditions for the safe and beneficial use of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies have been validated; and who will make that decision.

Ian Pearson: It is for each party to the convention on biological diversity to assess whether:
	(1) appropriate scientific data is available in relation to the field testing of products incorporating Genetic Use Restriction Technologies.
	(2) appropriate scientific assessment of the ecological and socio-economic impacts of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies have been carried out.
	(3) the conditions for the safe and beneficial use of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies have been validated.
	Decisions in the European Union on applications to approve genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are made on a case-by-case basis taking full account of a scientific assessment of the particular GMO and the risks associated with its use against the criteria in the EU legislation. An application for a GMO incorporating Genetic Use Restriction Technologies would be dealt with in the same way as any other GMO. Approval would only be granted if the evidence showed that a deliberate release of the GMO would not pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.

Greyhounds

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has held with greyhound racing authorities in order to ensure all retiring greyhounds are properly cared for; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department set up the Greyhound Welfare Working Group to examine the welfare aspects of greyhound racing, including arrangements for the dogs' retirement. The group includes representatives from animal welfare organisations and the greyhound racing industry.
	The group will offer advice to Ministers and officials on future regulations, including a code of practice.

M40 (Noise)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish a copy of the noise map covering junctions 3 to 7 of the M40, drawn up to comply with European Directive 2002/49/EC.

Ben Bradshaw: We aim to publish the information requested by summer 2007. It will be available on a website with the facility to search down to postcode level.

Marine Nature Reserves

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many marine nature reserves there are in England; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: There is one Marine Nature Reserve (MNR) in England, Lundy Island, off the coast of North Devon.
	The MNR arrangements are, in common with the other site safeguard provisions of the 1981 Act, based on the voluntary approach and are thus dependent on securing the co-operation of all the local interests concernedfor example, fishermen, divers, local authorities,to agree the detailed provisions for protecting each site.
	The development of marine nature conservation is more likely to make progress through the implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directives. The EC Habitats Directive aims to contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity by establishing a network of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) which, together with the sites designated under the EC Birds Directive (Special Protection Areas) are known as Natura 2000. These include marine sites as well as terrestrial sites. Some 36 marine sites were included in the initial list of possible SACs by the Government.

Melbourne Marine Services

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) the Department for Transport,  (b) local authorities,  (c) the Scottish Executive and  (d) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency regarding the ship-to-ship oil transfer planning application by Melbourne Marine Services in the Firth of Forth.

Ian Pearson: The Department has taken part in discussions with the Department for Transport and the Scottish Executive in relation to obligations under the habitats directive and the ship-to-ship oil transfer planning application by Melbourne Marine services in the Firth of Forth.
	The Department has not had contact with any local authorities or contact with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in relation to the ship-to-ship oil transfer planning application by Melbourne Marine services in the Firth of Forth.

Migrant Labour (Farms)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many migrant workers worked on British farms in 2005; and how many he estimates there will be in 2006.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	In 2005, 878 applications for work permits were approved under 'Agricultural Activities'.
	Figures for the first four months of 2006, i.e. 1 January 2006-30 April 2006, shows that 280 applications for work permits were approved under 'Agricultural Activities'.

Moths

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential impact on biodiversity of trends in the numbers of common species of moths.

Barry Gardiner: The Government funds surveys and draws on evidence from many sources relating to different groups of plants and animals, and their habitats, to assess trends in biodiversity.
	Moths are an important element of many ecosystems. They pollinate plants and, together with their caterpillars, provide food for many other species including birds, bats and small mammals. The decline in the number of common moths over the past 30 years, shown by the Rothamsted Insects Survey, is likely to affect other species.

National Nature Reserves

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many national nature reserves there are in England; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Currently, there are 220 national nature reserves in England covering 92,560 hectares. All national nature reserves are also classed as sites of special scientific interest.

National Parks

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many acres of national park there are in England; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The eight National Parks in England and the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads together cover some 10,496 square kilometres or about 2,593,618 acres.

Natural England

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much was originally budgeted for the transition of English Nature, the Rural Development Service and the Countryside Agency into Natural England; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much the restructuring of English Nature, Rural Development Service and the Countryside Agency to create Natural England cost in each year since 2003;
	(3)  how much has been paid to external consultants in establishing Natural England in each year since 2003; and from which budgets the funding came;
	(4)  whether the residual budgets from English Nature, the Rural Development Service and the Countryside Agency will be carried forward into the budget of Natural England.

Barry Gardiner: This Department's original cost estimates for establishing Natural England were set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, published in May 2005, to accompany the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill. The costs were forecast to be between 25.4 million and 36.8 million.
	Actual annual costs incurred since 2003 for the establishment of Natural England are as follows:
	
		
			   Annual costs ( million) 
			 2003-04  
			 2004-05 0.698 
			 2005-06 9.12 
		
	
	The cost of external consultants in establishing Natural England has come from DEFRA's budget and are as follows:
	
		
			   Costs () 
			 2003-04  
			 2004-05 47,383 
			 2005-06 2,067,565 
			 2006-07 263,651 
		
	
	A final decision on the budget for Natural England in the 2006-07 financial year will be made soon. As not all the responsibilities of the Countryside Agency and Rural Development Service will transfer to Natural England, Natural England will not inherit all of those bodies' resources.

Organic Meat

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the measures in place to prevent farmers labelling their meat as organic without complying with UK and EU regulations; how many farmers were found to be doing so in each year since 1997; what action was taken against them; what recent discussions the Government have had with the certification bodies for the organic sector on preventing such action; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Anyone who produces an organic agricultural product, or processes or imports an agricultural product for human consumption or animal feed, must be certified by an approved organic certification body. These bodies can sanction against breaches of the organic standards. However, they do not enforce action against uncertified production that claims to be organic. The enforcement of the Organic Product Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.
	The Department has regular contact with Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) in order to ensure that the regulations are effectively implemented. The Department does not keep statistics on the enforcement of the labelling part of the UK and EU Organic Regulations. Anyone who suspects the provenance of an organic product are encouraged to report the matter to their local trading standards office to investigate.

Research Establishments

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of Government research establishments funded by his Department are located in  (a) Wales,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland and  (d) Northern Ireland.

Ben Bradshaw: The three DEFRA laboratory agencies, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) each have their headquarters and main laboratory facilities in England. The VLA also has 15 regional laboratories, of which one is in Scotland, two in Wales and 12 in England.

Research Establishments

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) office management and services staff and  (b) scientific staff are employed at each public sector research establishment funded by his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: The information for the three DEFRA laboratory agencies, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) is as follows:
	
		
			  Agency  Scientists (including veterinarians)  Management and administration  Total staff 
			 CEFAS 370 138 508 
			 CSL 619 150 769 
			 VLA 987 332 1,319

Research Establishments

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to implement the recommendations of the Final Report of the Research Council Institute and Public Sector Research Establishment Sustainability Study Steering Group.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA is in discussions with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council on a Memorandum of Understanding to agree a framework for putting the principles of the Research Council Institute and Public Sector Research Establishment Sustainability Study (RIPSS) into practice. Issues around capital investment and risk in the context of DEFRA's ownership of its three laboratory agencies are being taken forward through the Department's Laboratory Strategy Programme. The other RIPSS recommendations, insofar as they apply to DEFRA, have been implemented or reflect existing practice.

Rural Payments Agency

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when meetings were held between Ministers from her Department and  (a) the chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency,  (b) members of the senior management team of the Rural Payments Agency and  (c) Accenture since January 2003; and which Ministers were present.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 27 April 2006
	DEFRA Ministers have met with the RPA chief executive, members of his senior management team and Accenture on a regular basis, including at single payment scheme stakeholder meetings. The Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food, and on occasion the Secretary of State, met with the RPA chief executive and/or his senior management team to specifically discuss matters related to the SPS on the following dates:
	 2005
	17 May 2005
	30 June 2005
	19 July 2005
	27 July 2005
	13 September 2005
	29 September 2005
	4 October 2005
	5 October 2005
	13 October 2005
	20 October 2005
	8 November 2005
	11 November 2005
	1 December 2005
	16 December 2005
	 2006
	10 January 2006
	30 January 2006
	6 February 2006
	14 March 2006
	22 March 2006
	28 March 2006
	29 March 2006
	5 April 2006
	11 April 2006
	12 April 2006
	18 April 2006
	19 April 2006
	25 April 2006
	4 May 2006
	8 May 2006
	10 May 2006
	17 May 2006
	24 May 2006
	31 May 2006
	7 June 2006
	20 June 2006
	21 June 2006
	12 July 2006
	Separate ministerial meetings involving Accenture were held on 12 May 2006, 26 July 2005 and 16 December 2005.
	Dates of meetings prior to the general election in May 2005 are not readily available.

Single Farm Payments

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much it has cost to implement the subsidy system for the Single Farm Payment scheme.

Barry Gardiner: The total cost of implementing the Single Payment scheme (SPS) in England, including associated business processes and systems, was 105.4 million. This expenditure includes the cost of establishing entitlements; processing, validating, inspecting, paying and accounting for claims; populating new rural land and customer registers; creating a document management unit and communicating with customers via scheme literature, seminars and advertising. These systems will underpin the delivery of SPS and other schemes to 2012 and beyond.
	The SPS 2005 scheme year payments In England amount to around 1,515 million (net of modulation).

SSSIs

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many sites of special scientific interest there are in England; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Currently, there are 4,120 sites of special scientific interest in England covering 1,074,216 hectares of land.

Sustainable Food and Farming

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department's sustainable food and farming research budget has been spent in research establishments based in  (a) Wales,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland and  (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The proportion expressed as percentages of the Department's sustainable farming and food research spent in research establishments i.e. research institutes in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland is given in the following table.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Wales 13.5 14.7 16.5 17.9 17.3 
			 England 18.1 19.5 21.9 20.5 17.4 
			 Scotland 3.7 3.4 3.0 3.0 2.9 
			 N Ireland

Sustainable Food and Farming

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department's research and development budget has been spent on research establishments based in  (a) Wales,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland and  (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The proportion expressed as percentages of the Department's research and development budget for research establishments i.e. research institutes in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Wales 4.5 4.7 5.0 5.2 4.5 
			 England 16.0 15.5 14.1 12.9 11.2 
			 Scotland 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.2 0.9 
			 N Ireland

Waste Collection

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much  (a) garden and  (b) kitchen waste was collected by local authorities in each year since 2000;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the barriers to the use of  (a) home composters for garden waste and  (b) food waste digesters for kitchen waste;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the level of use of  (a) home composters for garden waste and  (b) food waste digesters for kitchen waste;
	(4)  what his policy is on the use of  (a) home composters for garden waste and  (b) food waste digesters for kitchen waste.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answers 24 July 2006
	Local authorities in England collected an estimated 798 thousand tonnes of organic material (kitchen and garden waste) for composting in 2000-01, 940 thousand tonnes in 2001-02, 1.2 million tonnes in 2002-03 and 1.4 million tonnes in 2003-04. It is provisionally estimated that this has increased to around two million tonnes in 2004-05. This organic waste is collected for centralised composting schemes from households via kerbside schemes or taken by householders to Civic Amenity sites.
	Composting is high up the waste hierarchy and is supported by a range of policies that promote sustainable waste management. Composting, including home composting of kitchen and garden waste, is also likely to play an increasingly important role in diverting biodegradable waste from landfill in line with the Government's waste strategy objectives and obligations under the Landfill Directive.
	The Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) indicate that over 34 per cent. households participate in home composting schemes, with 23 per cent. of British households composting both kitchen and garden waste. WRAP is working with local authorities and other partners to improve the uptake of home composting through the distribution of one million home composting bins to households across the country.
	No estimate has been made by the Department on the level of use of food waste digesters for kitchen waste, nor has any assessment been made of the use, (or barriers to the use) of these, or home composters. Advice and best practice for home composting is available from a range of organisations including WRAP: http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/.

Waste Disposal Prosecutions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people in  (a) England and  (b) each region have been prosecuted for the illegal (i) transport, (ii) deposit and (iii) storage of waste in each of the last three years; and what total amount was paid in fines in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency records the numbers of prosecutions it takes nationally for illegal waste disposal. The number of prosecutions taken for the illegal deposit of waste and the average fines paid for illegal dumping of waste, are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  For section 33(1)a Environmental Protection Act 1990illegal deposit 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 269 
			 2003-04 254 
			 2004-05 232 
			 2005-20 219 
		
	
	
		
			  Average fines for illegal dumping 
			   Number 
			 2002 2,286 
			 2003 2,102 
			 2004 2,191 
			 2005 3,394 
		
	
	Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database, was set up in 2004. Data held on Flycapture indicate local authorities are taking a wide range of enforcement action. Prior to April 2005 the 'actions taken' page of the Flycapture database was not mandatory and therefore the picture is patchy. However, data from 2005-06 indicate that local authorities reported 1,479 prosecutions for illegal dumping. The total amount paid in fines for this period is reported to be 268,243.
	This Department does not hold national data on prosecutions taken for the illegal transport of waste.

Water Companies

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sanctions Ofwat can impose on water companies which fail to meet leakage targets; and whether he has discussed possible sanctions against Thames Water with Ofwat.

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what penalties are in place for water companies which fail to meet their leakage reduction target; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is adequately fulfilling its statutory remit in respect of all water companies, with particular reference to Thames Water; what measures he is able to take to ensure that it does so; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat is responsible for setting leakage targets and has powers to deal with poor performance.
	Should Ofwat conclude that the failure of a water company to manage leakage constitutes a failure of the duty under section 37 of the Water Industry Act to maintain an efficient water supply system, it has two options for regulatory action. It has powers to initiate enforcement action under section 18 of the Water Industry Act to require the water company to take specified steps to reduce the level of leakage. Since April 2005, it also has powers to impose a financial penalty under section 22A of the Water Industry Act.
	I have discussed with Ofwat the issues of leakage and enforcement options available, but Ofwat is independent of Ministers.
	Following Thames Water's failure to meet its leakage, Ofwat announced it has secured a legally binding undertaking, committing Thames Water to 150 million of additional investment in replacing leaking mains. This is more than double the maximum imposable fine and will come from the shareholder, not the bill payer. Ofwat has also set revised leakage targets for the period up to 2010 to get the company's leakage reduction back on track and to take leakage down to 720 megalitres/day by 2009-10 rather than the old target of 725 megalitres/day. It is right that the consumer does not bear the burden of the increased investment needed for Thames Water to deal with its failure to meet its leakage targets.
	Ofwat will closely monitor the company's progress. Subsequent failures will lead to further enforcement action, including fines if appropriate, from 2007. Ofwat will not hesitate to use its tough powers against any company that clearly fails to meet its responsibilities to consumers.

Water Companies

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1858W, on water companies, what the evidential basis is in each region for the improvement in  (a) efficiency,  (b) drinking water quality and  (c) water environment, broken down by region; and what the leakage rates have been in each region in each year since 1980.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat sets demanding efficiency targets at each price review. The companies judged to be least efficient by Ofwat must make the biggest reductions in costs. In addition, there are incentives for companies to beat Ofwat's efficiency assumptions, which reward the companies in the short term (up to five years) and customers, through lower bills in the longer term.
	Ofwat estimates that savings from efficiency improvements between privatisation and 1 April 2005 have resulted in bills 90 lower than they otherwise would have been. The price limits set by Ofwat in 2004 assume further savings in bills of at least 16 in the five years up to 2009-10.
	The impact of past efficiency savings on the average household bill along with a reduction for future efficiency improvements are published at each price review in Ofwat's Final Determinations publication.
	Drinking water in England and Wales is of a very high quality. Between 1994 and 2003 tests were taken according to the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 that arose from the 1980 Drinking Water Directive. Table 1 shows a year-on-year improvement in compliance with the standards. Table 2 shows the reduction in the numbers of samples failing to meet standards.
	
		
			  Table 1: Drinking Water Quality 
			   Overall compliance with Regulatory standards (Percentage) 
			 1994 99.28 
			 1995 99.45 
			 1996 99.70 
			 1997 99.75 
			 1998 99.78 
			 1999 99.82 
			 2000 99.83 
			 2001 99.86 
			 2002 99.87 
			 2003 99.88 
			 2004(1) 99.94 
			 2005(1) 99.96 
			 (1) New regulations applied from 2004 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Drinking Water Quality 
			   Total number of breaches of standard 
			 1994 25,171 
			 1995 17,341 
			 1996 9,107 
			 1997 7,434 
			 1998 6,245 
			 1999 5,148 
			 2000 4,475 
			 2001 4,054 
			 2002 3,741 
			 2003 3,418 
			 2004(1) 1,145 
			 2005(1) 955 
			 (1 )New regulations applied from 2004 
		
	
	Both bathing water quality and river water quality have also improved. Monitoring by the Environment Agency has shown compliance with the mandatory standard of the Bathing Water Directive has risen from 79.3 per cent. in 1990 to 98.8 per cent. in 2005. Compliance with its more stringent guideline standard has risen from 34.2 per cent. in 1990 to 83.8 per cent. in 2005.
	In England, 62 per cent. of rivers were of good quality in 2004 compared with 43 per cent. in 1990. In all years since 1993 over 90 per cent. of rivers in Wales have been of good chemical quality. Table 3, shows the chemical quality of rivers from 1990-2004.
	Further improvements in water quality are anticipated as the Water Framework Directive is implemented between now and 2015. Based on a more sophisticated understanding of water quality than existing assessment methods, this Directive sets demanding targets for the ecological and chemical quality of surface waters and chemical and quantitative quality of groundwaters.
	Ofwat publishes leakage figures by company, in its annual security of supply, leakage and efficient use of water report. Table 4, shows leakage rates from 1990-91, which is the earliest year that figures are available.
	
		
			  Table 3: River and Canal Water Quality: Chemical quality of rivers and canals( 1) : 1990( 2) , 1995, 2000-04, England, Wales, Northern Ireland 
			   Length in km( 4)  
			   Good  Fair  Poor  Bad   Percentage of total 
			  Years( 3)  A  B  C  D  E  F  Total  Good  Fair  Poor or bad 
			  EA Region   
			  North West   
			 1990 719 598 556 436 648 204 3,161 42 31 27 
			 1995 1,159 1,927 1,027 695 758 132 5,697 54 30 16 
			 2000 2,151 1,361 1,196 500 469 55 5,732 61 30 9 
			 2001 2,231 1,271 1,255 559 367 65 5,748 61 32 8 
			 2002 2,252 1,313 1,122 568 441 44 5,740 62 29 8 
			 2003 2,209 1,294 1,149 638 371 78 5,740 61 31 8 
			 2004 2,134 1,413 1,145 581 386 90 5,748 62 30 8 
			
			  North East   
			 1990 840 1,603 557 441 607 176 4,224 58 24 19 
			 1995 2,107 1,781 872 626 764 82 6,232 62 24 14 
			 2000 1,629 2,527 1,120 518 402 45 6,240 67 26 7 
			 2001 1,724 2,336 1,214 558 376 25 6,233 65 28 6 
			 2002 2,097 2,132 1,118 484 380 50 6,261 68 26 7 
			 2003 2,121 2,070 1,015 498 406 48 6,157 68 25 7 
			 2004 1,965 2,399 961 448 382 44 6,200 70 23 7 
			  Midlands   
			 1990 450 1,519 1,619 968 956 131 5,643 35 46 19 
			 1995 777 2,183 2,121 885 548 66 6,579 45 46 9 
			 2000 1,191 2,779 1,677 613 401 22 6,682 59 34 6 
			 2001 1,280 2,949 1,468 552 424 14 6,686 63 30 7 
			 2002 1,254 2,961 1,436 644 366 23 6,684 63 31 6 
			 2003 1,187 2,721 1,570 741 464 44 6,726 58 34 8 
			 2004 1,227 2,515 1,770 645 496 51 6,703 56 36 8 
			
			  Anglian   
			 1990 36 759 1,691 1,189 786 102 4,564 17 63 19 
			 1995 250 1,638 1,468 850 580 28 4,815 39 48 13 
			 2000 591 1,785 1,442 628 345 25 4,815 49 43 8 
			 2001 807 1,976 1,161 533 331 8 4,815 58 35 7 
			 2002 640 1,981 1,267 520 404 4 4,815 54 37 8 
			 2003 395 1,719 1,486 695 483 4 4,782 44 46 10 
			 2004 348 1,666 1,560 758 454 9 4795 42 48 10 
			
			  Thames   
			 1990 293 992 1,098 519 618 42 3,563 36 45 19 
			 1995 534 1,299 1,160 573 216 13 3,796 48 46 6 
			 2000 968 1,539 685 389 206 3 3,791 66 28 6 
			 2001 1,032 1,537 711 395 112 2 3,789 68 29 3 
			 2002 973 1,595 781 267 169 4 3,789 68 28 5 
			 2003 833 1,600 764 384 188 15 3,784 64 30 5 
			 2004 814 1,601 795 374 183 20 3,788 64 31 5 
			
			  Southern   
			 1990 238 713 672 292 238 33 2,186 44 44 12 
			 1995 276 972 585 217 152 20 2,222 56 36 8 
			 2000 462 868 524 218 145 3 2,219 60 33 7 
			 2001 353 943 549 202 176 1 2,223 58 34 8 
			 2002 284 688 757 320 180 1 2,230 44 48 8 
			 2003 236 545 826 395 219 5 2,226 35 55 10 
			 2004 261 633 749 337 247 6 2,233 40 49 11 
			
			  South West   
			 1990 1,644 2,700 1,301 695 363 68 6,771 64 29 6 
			 1995 2,331 2,276 1,042 224 174 43 6,090 76 21 4 
			 2000 2,753 2,198 768 184 144 1 6,047 82 16 2 
			 2001 2,786 2,184 771 153 166 1 6,061 82 15 3 
			 2002 2,568 2,473 687 158 161 13 6,061 83 14 3 
			 2003 2,426 2,448 774 249 140 18 6,055 80 17 3 
			 2004 2,443 2,389 788 244 172 17 6,052 80 17 3 
			
			  England   
			 1990 4,197 9,164 7,670 4,643 4,297 772 30,742 43 40 16 
			 1995 7,693 12,291 8,358 4,106 3,212 384 36,044 55 35 10 
			 2000 9,934 13,345 7,515 3,064 2,127 154 36,138 64 29 6 
			 2001 10,426 13,478 7,200 2,978 1,963 123 36,167 66 28 6 
			 2002 10,286 13,416 7,237 2,997 2,115 141 36,191 65 28 6 
			 2003 9,577 12,512 7,627 3,638 2,289 213 35,856 62 31 7 
			 2004 9,386 12,703 7,795 3,446 2,340 236 35,906 62 31 7 
			 (1) Based on the GQA chemical classification system. (2) Figures are three-year averages ending in the year shown (3) Lengths are rounded to the nearest 1 km and may not exactly sum to totals. (4) As the length of monitored rivers greatly increased in 2002, data are shown here for only those rivers that were being monitored before 2002.  Source publication: e-Digest of Environmental Statistics, Published August 2005, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/index.htm 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Water Company leakage rates 
			  Total leakage  1990-91  1991-92  1992-93  1993-94  1994-95  1995-96  1996-97  1997-98 
			 Anglian 195.39 152.67 272.85 279.87 298.35 313.49 275.69 290.06 
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire 7.53 9.23 27.3 26.8 27.48 27.48 28.51 26.27 
			 Bristol 56.41 17.55 63.77 51.9 58.7 65.53 64.83 59.34 
			 Cambridge 12.38 12.89 16.05 15.74 15.42 15.98 15.92 14.4 
			 Dee Valley 11.57 8.96 18.97 18.45 13.65 14.57 12.99 12.19 
			 Dwr Cymru 806 303.1 383.42 386.63 390.13 412.94 357.15 329.42 
			 Essex and Suffolk   95.92 94.45 97.97 90.27 84.77 82.18 
			 Folkestone and Dover 17.34 10.57 14.33 12.84 12.28 12.73 11.57 8.71 
			 Mid Kent 75.5 24.85 39.48 43.05 40.28 39.68 38.23 36.06 
			 North Surrey 34.44 29.36 29.7 28.72 29.38 31.35 27.46  
			 United Utilities 772.2 896.21 944.87 897.2 873.56 789.01 665.86 578.78 
			 Northumbrian   180.29 181.61 186.68 189.81 192.39 184.47 
			 Portsmouth 42.44 27.28 33.42 32.99 32.66 30.34 30.3 32 
			 Severn Trent 401 373 569.53 613.7 665.45 632.07 478.6 398.99 
			 South East Water 93.79 73.06 89.66 101.93 104.94 94.17 98.8 107.92 
			 South Staffs 74.35 43.19 87.28 88.91 94.93 92.92 90.12 81.84 
			 South West 140 120 157.82 151.65 144.95 142.01 129.08 101.06 
			 Southern 192.9 117 160.61 141.4 132.59 119.99 112.73 98.78 
			 Sutton and East Surrey   34.71 31.31 26.96 26.06 27.2 25.93 
			 Tendring Hundred 4.4 4.7 5.56 6 6.11 6.38 6.32 5.75 
			 Thames 688 648 802.99 929.54 1,077.58 1,108.69 1,082.92 905.55 
			 Three Valleys 115 165.7 175.3 161.1 157.61 168.12 171.85  
			 Three Valleys/North Surrey   172.58 157.61 
			 Wessex 94.8 95.5 136.67 137.01 140.09 132.55 128.76 109.75 
			 Wrexham 8.2 4.48 7.61 6.11 7.34 7.41 7.79 7.47 
			 York 6.15 8.64 11.08 10.98 10.43 9.93 9.79  
			 Yorkshire 455.7 334 493.77 514.3 535.71 485.04 419.76  
			 Yorkshire and York377.21 
		
	
	
		
			  Total leakage  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Anglian 205.77 190 194.17 224.34 192 216.11 214.4 
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire 25.7 22.66 22.52 22.38 22.17 22.2 22.19 
			 Bristol 56.38 54.02 54.55 54.59 53.25 53.35 53.47 
			 Cambridge 13.07 12.81 13.26 13.76 13.93 13.55 14.16 
			 Dee Valley 11.89 12.52 11.55 11.34 11.01 10.36 10.63 
			 Dwr Cymru 306.01 288.4 260.16 245.22 233.62 231.3 225.97 
			 Essex and Suffolk 76.35 73.4 72.39 72.95 66.95 70.2 66.77 
			 Folkestone and Dover 8.71 8.47 8.6 8.43 8.39 8.17 8.4 
			 Mid Kent 30.08 29.18 28.88 28.69 27.64 29.69 28.7 
			 North Surrey
			 United Utilities 510.27 487 463.26 452 464.91 479.19 499.57 
			 Northumbrian 170.72 167.8 163.59 161.36 152.78 160.19 154.92 
			 Portsmouth 30.48 30.25 30.02 29.77 29.69 29.5 29.86 
			 Severn Trent 344.25 340.1 340.24 340.28 513.77 512.01 502.02 
			 South East Water 97.56 96.59 85.43 74.59 72.1 69.15 69.3 
			 South Staffs 77.11 75.6 72.21 71.49 71.4 71.42 74.32 
			 South West 91.64 83.7 83.6 83.46 83.74 83.8 83.14 
			 Southern 94.84 92.69 91.68 91.95 91.9 91.6 91.57 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 24.94 24.38 24.42 24.45 24.41 24.47 24.33 
			 Tendring Hundred 5.49 5.39 5.52 5.16 5.19 5.07 5.01 
			 Thames 770.39 661.9 687.89 864.91 943.29 946.04 914.61 
			 Three Valleys
			 Three Valleys/North Surrey 144.8 140.28 157.1 152.48 152 148.96  
			 Wessex 100.29 88.31 84.23 79.31 74.84 74.87 72.64 
			 Wrexham 7.43   
			 York
			 Yorkshire
			 Yorkshire and York 342.24 316.5 304.42 296.72 295.82 295 292.73

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office services recruitment: April 2000-March 2001 
			   Date   
			 Overall recruitment advertising costs 2000 56,707 
			
			  Specialist recruitment   
			 Regional medical officer April 2000 7,535 
			 Research analysts May 2000 9,640 
			 Management accountant May 2000 8,525 
			 Technology manager May 2000 13,488 
			 ICT manager May 2000 12,546 
			 Chief executive, FCO services May 2000 16,880 
			 Economists July 2000 33,901 
			 Conflict management adviser July 2000 32,672 
			 Information officer July 2000 5,750 
			 Research Analysts July 2000 26,097 
			 Accountants September 2000 69,243 
			 Regional financial officer January 2001 25,206 
			 Assistant legal adviser March 2001 23,966 
		
	
	
		
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office services recruitment: April 2001-March 2002 
			   Date   
			 Overall recruitment advertising costs 2001 194,061 
			
			  Specialist recruitment:   
			 Regional medical officer May 2001 22,920 
			 Research analysts May 2001 25,208 
			 Nurse May 2001 28,242 
			 Employment law officer June 2001 30,764 
			 Research officer July 2001 37,900 
			 Head of HR statistics July 2001 43,952 
			 Accountants July 2001 37,683 
			 Regional medical officer July 2001 21,444 
			 Auditors October 2001 24,945 
			 Research analysts November 2001 34,427 
			 Forward planner January 2002 28,025 
			 Communications support worker February 2002 8,713 
			 Legal researcher February 2002 3,604 
			 Assistant legal adviser February 2002 30,870 
			 Senior editor February 2002 33,259 
			
			  Generalist recruitment   
			 Administrative assistants 2001 20,293 
			 Executive assistants 2001 37,634 
			 Operational officers 2001 38,913 
			 Management officer March 2001 60,340 
			
			  General advertising   
			 Diversity advertising 2001 203,050 
		
	
	
		
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office services recruitment: April 2002-March 2003 
			   Date   
			 Contracts manager April 2002 3,800 
			 Deputy head of global procurement April 2002 5,690 
			 Professional and technology officer April 2002 8,323 
			 Assistant workshop supervisor May 2002 180 
			 Nursery nurse April 2002 353 
			 Nursery manager July 2002 2,841 
			 Head of technical security May 2002 12,288 
			 Field investigating officers September 2002 7,350 
			 Mail room assistants November 2002 900 
			 Assistant Government butler March 2003 5,228 
			 French/German translator March 2003 157 
			 Nursery assistant March 2003 2,323 
			 I.T helpdesk, systems developer, I.T analyst March 2003 7,936 
			 Computer and electronic engineer apprentice March 2003 9,212 
			 Nursery assistant March 2003 2,323 
			
			  Specialist recruitment   
			 Accountants April 2002 28,810 
			 Research analysts May 2002 20,765 
			 1st Secretary France/2nd Secretary Taiwan September 2002 22,661 
			 2nd Secretary science and technology September 2002 13,980 
			 Managing editor September 2002 9,819 
			 Financial officers September 2002 14,981 
			 Chief accountant January 2003 22,497 
			
			  Generalist recruitment   
			 Administrative assistants 2002 33,690 
			 Executive assistants 2002 37,288 
			
			  General advertising   
			 Diversity advertising 2002 183,109 
		
	
	
		
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office services recruitment: April 2003-March 2004 
			   Date   
			 Field investigating officers October 2003 7,530 
			 Nursery assistant November 2003 485 
			 HR advisor positions December 2003 5,300 
			 Finance managers for supply chainICT and estates group officer January 2004 7,424 
			 Executive assistant February 2004 2,047 
			 IT helpdesk officer March 2004 10,760 
			
			  Specialist recruitment   
			 Independent monitor April 2003 21,067 
			 Research analysts April 2003 21,326 
			 Science and technology officer July 2003 12,455 
			 Assistant librarians August 2003 7,500 
			 Clinical services manager September 2003 11,784 
			 Finance Officer September 2003 10,756 
			 Chief librarian January 2004 8,215 
			 Nurse-Dhaka February 2004 14,003 
			
			  Generalist recruitment   
			 Administrative assistants 2003 18,817 
			 Executive assistants 2003 29,977 
			 Operational officers 2003 35,393 
			
			  General advertising   
			 Diversity advertising 2003 156,844 
		
	
	
		
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office services recruitment: April 2004-June 2004 
			   Date  
			 IT helpdesk officer April 2004 10,496 
			 Field investigating officers June 2004 17,540 
			
			  Generalist recruitment   
			 Administrative assistants 2004 8,485 
			 Executive assistants 2004 49,702 
		
	
	Generalist recruitment information for 2000 can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the current threat to the authority of the Afghanistan government by non-statutory and illegal armed groups in Afghanistan; and what progress has been made towards their disbandment in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact.

Margaret Beckett: Although non-statutory and illegal armed groups present an obstacle to extending the authority of the Afghan Government, we do not assess that they pose a serious threat to stability. We assess that the recent upsurge in violence in the south of Afghanistan is in partif not whollya response to the Coalition's current vigorous activity in the area, and that overall it does not represent an increased threat to the stability of the Afghan state. However, the International Community and the Afghan Government are monitoring the situation closely.
	The Afghanistan Compact sets the goal for disbandment of all illegal armed groups by the end of 2007. Since the start of the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups process in June 2005, over 24,000 weapons have been handed in.

Africa (Chinese Migrant Workers)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on each African state's economy of Chinese migrant workers.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made no assessment of the impact on each African state's economy of Chinese migrant workers. The best way for Africa to reduce poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals is through increased trade and investment. The movement of people to Africa, where well managed, can bring benefits to African economies and new skills, technology and knowledge which support growth and development. The Government have raised common issues of interest in Africa with the Chinese Government and we will continue to encourage China to engage with Africa in a way that reinforces the principles set out in the African-led New Partnership for Africa's Development agenda of democracy, transparency, promotion of peace and stability, competitiveness and sustainable growth.

African Migrants

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who represented the UK at the European-African Migration Conference in Morocco; and what the UK's policy is on  (a) African migration to Europe and  (b) Africans who migrate to the Canary Isles.

Geoff Hoon: I represented the UK at the Euro-African Conference on Migration and Development that took place in Rabat from the 10-11 July.
	The UK continues to work closely with EU and African partners to address migratory flows from Africa across the Mediterranean. In December 2005, at the last European Council under the UK presidency, member states agreed the Global Approach to Migration paper, a comprehensive, practical guide to managing migration in partnership with third countries in Africa and the Mediterranean. It lays out a number of priority actions, including:
	following the Rabat conference on West Africa, the development of regional initiatives examining further migration routes through co-operation with source, transit and destination countries;
	enhanced co-ordination and increased sharing of information within member states' networks of Immigration Liaison Officers on key illegal immigration routes in Africa;
	support for a Regional Protection Programme in Tanzania, designed to strengthen the capacity of Tanzanian institutions to protect refugees;
	a risk analysis compiled by Frontex, the EU Border Agency, on irregular migration flows through Africa, and two feasibility studies, one exploring the possibility of a regional network to reinforce maritime controls and surveillance in the Mediterranean and a second to examine the technical feasibility of establishing a surveillance system to cover the entire southern EU maritime border.
	The UK particularly supports work that seeks to strengthen the commitment of all partners, African and European, to work together to maximise the benefits of well-managed legal migration and minimise the risks of uncontrolled, illegal immigration.
	In addition to this long-term approach, the UK is also working to address the impact of sudden influxes of migrants. In response to the ongoing crisis in the Canaries, the UK is deploying two immigration officials to the area to assist in conducting nationality and identity interviews with intercepted migrants. Malta also faces acute socio-economic challenges as a consequence of illegal sea-borne migration from North Africa. In response to a request from the Maltese authorities via Frontex, the UK has deployed an official to Malta to assist with nationality and identity interviewing, offered strategic advice on returns and, pending the outcome of a forthcoming planning meeting, will assess the possibility of offering further assistance through an expert in maritime intelligence and experts in de-briefing irregular migrants for the purposes of intelligence gathering.

British Embassies (Security)

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Group Four Security provides security services at British embassies abroad.

Geoff Hoon: Our 233 diplomatic missions abroad have delegated authority to arrange contracts for security services locally. Details of these contracts are not held centrally in London and could be established only at a disproportionate cost. However, at a recent management conference to discuss administration issues for our posts in Europe, it emerged that Group Four is the largest security provider for these posts.

Chevening Scholarships

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Chevening Scholarships were awarded in each of the last three years.

Geoff Hoon: The number of Chevening Scholarships awarded in each of the last three years were 2,387 in the academic year 2002-03; 2,401 in 2003-04 and 2,124 in 2004-05.

Chevening Scholarships

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Chevening Scholarships were awarded to students from  (a) India,  (b) Malaysia,  (c) China,  (d) Pakistan and  (e) Korea in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The number of Chevening Scholarships awarded to students from the countries listed is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Country  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 India 135 130 133 121 130 
			 Malaysia 54 48 57 56 36 
			 China (including Hong Kong) 224 211 290 311 277 
			 Pakistan 51 51 57 62 52 
			 Korea (South) 66 82 75 71 67

Computing Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computer hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in her Department in each month since March 2005.

Geoff Hoon: As my right. hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) explained to the hon. Member in his answer of 23 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 1795-97W, while core IT equipment is centrally provided, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office also operates a devolved system of budgeting under which Directorates and overseas posts have freedom to buy a range of IT and other equipment to support their work.
	These purchases are not recorded centrally and a full answer would require extensive research and could not be provided without incurring excessive cost.

Departmental Employees (Criminal Activity)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of her Department's employees have been  (a) dismissed,  (b) suspended and  (c) subject to disciplinary action for criminal activity in each year since 1997.

Geoff Hoon: We do not keep records which show specifically when criminal activity may have been a reason for disciplinary proceedings to be instigated. Members of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can be dismissed for gross misconduct because they have failed to adhere to staff regulations which form part of the terms and conditions of service. The total number of UK based staff who were dismissed for reasons of misconduct, but not necessarily involving criminal activity, are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997  
			 1998  
			 1999  
			 2000  
			 2001 1 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 5 
			 2004 2 
			 2005 2 
			 2006 to date 3 
		
	
	We do not keep historical data of staff who have been suspended. The current position is that there are three members of staff suspended from duty.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was paid to her Department from the Access to Work Scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget she plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of Access to Work funding for central Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The total amount received from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for Access to Work funding last year was 88,900.59. This figure does not include funding claimed by staff direct from the DWP. Staff who do claim such support are under no obligation to notify the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	From October 2006, when Access to Work funding from the DWP will cease, these costs will be covered from central FCO Human Resources budgets.

Environmental Standards

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether her Department  (a) is committed to the achievement of environmental management to ISO 14001 standard and  (b) has been externally certified as in compliance with that standard; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to managing its estate in a sustainable manner and has operated an ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System (EMS) at our main building in London since 2002, extended to the old Admiralty building in 2004. We are integrating this EMS with the EMS operating on our rural site at Hanslope Park in Buckinghamshire and plan to extend ISO certification to Hanslope Park in the autumn.

Falkland Islands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the recent decision of the Argentine Parliament to establish a commission which will investigate how to win control of the Falkland Islands.

Geoff Hoon: The Argentine Congressional Observatory on the Falkland Islands was established on 29 June, with the purpose of bringing together Argentine academics and legislators to promote communication and dialogue about the Falkland Islands.
	The Government and the Falkland Islands Government remain ready to explore ways of improving practical co-operation with Argentina on issues of mutual benefit. However, we have made consistently clear to the Argentine Government that there can be no negotiations on sovereignty unless and until such time as the Falkland Islanders so wish.

Hobsbawn and Macauley Communications

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department has paid to Hobsbawn and Macauley Communications for services in each year since 1997.

Geoff Hoon: No payments have been made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to this supplier in the UK in this period. Information is not held centrally on payments made by posts to suppliers and it would incur disproportionate costs to ask posts to provide this information.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which IT contracts awarded by her Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Geoff Hoon: The only significant IT contract cancelled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the last five years was the Focus Programme, as outlined in a written statement on 28 April 2003,  Official Report, column 2WS. The net cost of cancelling the relevant contract was 7 million, as set out by the then Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) in answer to a written question from the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 7 May 2003,  Official Report, column 738W.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects the Security Council to consider the proposed UN stabilisation force in Lebanon; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We welcome the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701. The resolution's objectives are clear: to bring about a full cessation of hostilities; to create the space for an urgent humanitarian relief effort; and to begin a process leading to a permanent ceasefire and a durable peace.
	Urgent work is under way to strengthen the UN force in Lebanon as quickly as possible, to carry out the range of important new tasks set out in UNSCR 1701. The force will need to be built up from around 2,000 at present to a maximum of 15,000. This is the responsibility of the UN, which will need to work quickly with potential troop providers to build up the force and agree operational plans.
	We strongly welcome the contributions announced by EU member states at the 25 August General Affairs and External Relations Council.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment had been made prior to 12 July of progress towards the general disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militia in Lebanon in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1559.

Margaret Beckett: In his report of 26 April 2006 to the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 noted that the Government of Lebanon had taken measures to limit the existence of Palestinian arms outside the refugee camps, but more remained to be done. The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy also recorded that there had been no noticeable change in the operational status and capabilities of Hezbollah.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the names are of the  (a) Lebanese and  (b) non-Lebanese militias within Lebanon that must be disarmed in accordance with Resolution 1559.

Margaret Beckett: UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1559 does not specify individual militias within Lebanon. In his report to the Security Council on 8 October 2004, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Implementation of UNSCR 1559 identified the most significant remaining armed group in Lebanon as Hezbollah. He also referred to the need to disarm the Palestinian armed groups in Lebanon.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the most recent assessment prior to 12 July was of  (a) the size and active strength of the Hezbollah militia and  (b) progress towards its disarmament.

Margaret Beckett: Prior to 12 July, the Ministry of Defence assessed that Hezbollah's military wing comprised some 1,000 full time personnel, augmented by reservists in times of crisis, and possessed as many as 13,000 rockets.
	In his April 2006 report, the Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General noted that
	the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) calling for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory, and strict respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government have not yet been fully implemented.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the last discussion prior to 12 July took place between her Department and the government of Lebanon regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1559; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: There is regular and close contact between the UK and the Government of Lebanon, including discussions about the disarmament of Hezbollah in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1559. The subject was discussed when my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Fuad Siniora, on 9 May this year. The UK supports full implementation of UNSCR 1559, including the disarmament of Hezbollah and the efforts of the Lebanese Government to assert its sovereignty and authority throughout its territories.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the extent of Hezbollah involvement in terrorist activity was last reviewed; and what the finding of the review were.

Geoff Hoon: The Government are keeping Hezbollah's activities under constant and active review. We have condemned Hezbollah's recent actions. Hezbollah's External Security Organisation has been a proscribed organisation in the UK since 2001. As the Minister of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. McNulty) told the House on 20 July 2006,  Official Report, column 490, the list of proscribed organisations is kept under constant review.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will arrange for a copy of the most recent report of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the implementation of UNSCR 1559 to be placed in the Library.

Margaret Beckett: A copy of the April 2006 report from the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the implementation of UN Security-Council Resolution 1559 will be placed in the Library of the House. I will also arrange for officials to send a copy of the report to the right hon. Member.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what form of support the UK Government have provided to the Government of Lebanon over the last five years to the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The UK played a leading role in passing UN Security Council Resolution 1559 in September 2004. This called for withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon and supported the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory. Since Syrian troops withdrew in April 2005, we have been giving practical assistance to the Lebanese Government to help it assert its authority over its territory. This has included sending UK experts to advise on security sector reform, training courses for the Lebanese security forces and a visit by a UK military team to review equipment requirements for the Lebanese armed forces in its new role.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment had been made prior to 12 July 2006 of progress towards the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1559; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: When the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 presented his report to the Security Council on 26 April 2006 he concluded that the Government of Lebanon still did not fully exert control over all Lebanese territory. He noted that
	the primary factors impeding the extension of Lebanese Government control over all of Lebanon's territory are the existence of armed groups outside the control of the Lebanese Government and uncertainty over the exact boundaries of the Lebanese territory. Timely implementation of tangible measures towards the disarming and disbanding of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and towards the delineation of the border between the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon will be an important step towards the extension of the Government's control over all its territory.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which countries the Government have held discussions on the possibility of a new United Nations force for Lebanon; and with which other countries discussions are planned.

Geoff Hoon: There are ongoing meetings in New York on details of the new United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. A number of countries have indicated a willingness to contribute. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has spoken to UN Secretary General Annan as well as his Lebanese, French and Italian counterparts. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has also been in regular touch with her US and Egyptian counterparts.
	During the visit to the region of the Minister of State for the Middle East, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells), on 22 to 24 July, he discussed this with his Lebanese, Israeli and Jordanian interlocutors. More recently my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed this matter with the French Foreign Minister.
	We also remain in regular contact at official level with our international partners.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received regarding the setting up of a reconstruction fund for Lebanon; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We will play our full part in the humanitarian and reconstruction effort. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been in direct touch with Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora about ways in which the UK can support the recovery effort, including through providing emergency bridging to help the flow of assistance. During his visit to Beirut on 15 August, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development announced an additional 6 million of humanitarian assistance, bringing the total contribution to 12.5 million. UK funding has so far helped to provide and deliver food, water, health, hygiene, other essential supplies and mine-clearing activities.

Middle East

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to visit the Middle East.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary continues to be engaged with developments in the Middle East and will travel to the region soon. On 21 July my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, visited Cyprus to see British evacuation operations and meet British nationals who have been evacuated from Lebanon. On 22-24 July the Minister of State for the Middle East, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) visited the region. On 22 July he met with Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora and Lebanese Foreign Minister Salloukh and others. On 23 July he met Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Foreign Minister Livni to raise our concerns about the situation. On 24 July, he also visited Amman meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Bakhit and his Royal Highness Prince Faisal.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister intends to visit the region, in particular Israel and Palestine, over the coming period, and will consult those there and of course members of the Quartet on the best way forward. Our priority must be to create the conditions for an early resumption of negotiations based on the Quartet Roadmap. Negotiation is the only viable way to bring peace and prosperity to the people throughout the Middle East.

Ministerial Meetings

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she last met the Scottish First Minister; and what subjects were discussed.

Kim Howells: Ministers have regular dialogues with ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Executive, discussing a wide range of issues of mutual interest. It is not our practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Nigeria

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the UK Government have had with  (a) the Nigerian Government and  (b) the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Committee on the transparency of the forthcoming Nigerian presidential elections.

Ian McCartney: Our high commission in Abuja regularly discusses preparations for elections in 2007 with the Nigerian Government. We are also working closely with Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure elections are peaceful and as transparent as possible. Most recently, officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development discussed election preparations with the chairman of INEC in London on 11 July.

Nigeria

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government plan to send monitors to the forthcoming Nigerian presidential elections.

Ian McCartney: The Government's contribution to external monitoring of elections in Nigeria next year will principally be through the EU's Election Observation Mission. We plan to send observers as part of this mission.
	A team from our high commission in Abuja will also participate in elections monitoring.

Outsourcing

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what administrative functions for which her Department is responsible are outsourced overseas; and what assessment she has made of the merits of outsourcing further such functions overseas.

Geoff Hoon: None of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office administrative functions, which would normally be managed in the UK, are outsourced overseas.
	Some customer-facing aspects of our overseas visa operation are outsourced to commercial partners in several countries. This provides applicants with more convenient locations at which to apply and has eliminated queues and attendant security problems at our diplomatic missions. Precise details vary from country to country and are set out in commercial service level agreements. Local partners receive applications with supporting documents which are sent on to visa sections in diplomatic posts. Under no circumstances do they assess applications or advise on likely outcomes. We are considering further expansion of this activity through a public contract procurement process.

Questionnaires

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) questionnaires,  (b) statistical inquiries and  (c) investigations have been carried out wholly or partly at public expense on behalf of or by her Department or public bodies for which she is responsible in each year since 1997; and what the (i) nature, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost was of each.

Geoff Hoon: This information is not held centrally and to collate it would incur disproportionate cost.

Royal Visits

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 2152W, on the Royal visit (USA), what elements made up the other reimbursements to the household totalling 8,497.45 referred to in the answer.

Margaret Beckett: The elements of the other reimbursements to the household totalling 8,497.45 referred to in the reply I gave my hon. Friend on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 2152W, are made up as follows:
	Daily Allowances
	Travel Insurance
	Stationery
	Telephone costs
	Taxis
	Toll charges
	Airport parking
	Fuel charges
	Hotel room charges
	Meals
	Laundry
	Combination padlocks
	Gratuities

Russian Federation

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which the Russian Federation is complying with the provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty.

Geoff Hoon: The UK, with other G7 members, has encouraged Russia to move forward during its G8 Presidency and ratify the Energy Charter Treaty, of which it is already a signatory and applies on a provisional basis.
	The UK is concerned that the proposed Russian Gas Export law would appear to contradict several of the major provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty, including the provisions on Transit. Through the EU, we continue to work with Russia towards an agreed text for the Transit Protocol while at the same time emphasising to Russia the importance of open, transparent, efficient and competitive markets at all stages of the energy supply chain as the key to global energy security.

UN Small Arms and Light Weapons Review

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the UN Small Arms and Light Weapons Review conference; which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from her Department attended the conference; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: It was very disappointing that the UN Small Arms Review Conference failed to agree an outcome document. However, we made progress on our main objectives. We secured consensus language on small arms transfer controls and increased support for integrating small arms control and armed violence reduction measures into development assistance.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Thomas), represented the UK at the High Level Segment of the Conference, supported by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence.

US-UK Extradition Treaty

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations she has received on the US-UK Extradition Treaty in 2006.

Ian McCartney: The hon. Member for Reigate (Mr. Blunt) raised concerns about the US-UK Extradition Treaty during a debate in this House on 21 March 2006,  Official Report, column 166, following which my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn, the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on 20 April about the matter. A copy of that letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not received any representations about the US-UK Extradition Treaty.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bankruptcy

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have declared themselves bankrupt in  (a) the UK,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Dunfermline and West Fife in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI only has responsibility for bankruptcies within England and Wales.
	The following table shows the number of bankruptcy orders in England and Wales in each year since 1997.
	
		
			  England and Wales bankruptcy orders 
			   Number 
			 1997 19,892 
			 1998 19,647 
			 1999 21,611 
			 2000 21,550 
			 2001 23,477 
			 2002 24,292 
			 2003 28,021 
			 2004 35,898 
			 2005 47,291

Bolt Guns

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what checks are made on people purchasing bolt guns; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Captive-bolt stunning devices used in the slaughter of animals are not firearms within the definition of the Firearms Act 1968. They are regarded as tools of the trade and, as such, are not required to be held on a firearms certificate.

DNA Sequences

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will require companies to check the use to which DNA sequences ordered from them are to be put prior to their dispatch to customers;
	(2)  if he will take steps  (a) to license suppliers of DNA sequences and  (b) to screen customers for the legitimacy of their proposed use of DNA sequences.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answers 26 June 2006
	There are no specific regulations that govern the sale, supply, or purchase of DNA sequences. The potential chemical hazards associated with the sequence itself would be covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended); if DNA sequences were to be used to create a biological agent, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2000 (as amended) are likely to apply. These provide for a high level of protection for human health and the environment (including animal and plant health). In addition, the Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1998 (SAPO), administered by DEFRA, regulates possession of nucleic acid derived from any animal pathogen specified under SAPO. In all cases the relevant containment and operating requirements laid down by HSE/Defra would need to be met.
	Provisions in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 place an obligation on managers of laboratories and other premises holding specified pathogens or toxins to notify the authorities and to comply with the security requirements which the police may impose.
	There is a wide range of legitimate uses to which DNA sequences may be put and the imposition of onerous controls could discourage valuable scientific research and industry use. The Government do not believe that it is necessary to require suppliers of DNA sequences to be licensed or for them to screen customers or check the intended use of the sequences. But we will continue to monitor the situation as the relevant technologies develop.

Energy (Schools)

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to paragraph 3.35 of the Energy Review, Cm 6887, what plans he has to share with his counterpart in the Welsh Assembly Government the practical lessons learned in the refurbishment of schools in England, including energy savings and carbon reductions.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	The DfES and the Welsh Assembly Government will maintain contact throughout their respective building programmes, and officials will keep each other informed of major developments which impact on energy use in schools, or which influence Government policy with respect to the design and construction of school buildings as they arise. There is extensive published material available from the DfES on its capital programme to support the design and construction of sustainable schools. This includes minimum standards that cover energy efficiency and renewable energy for new buildings and refurbishments within the schools capital programme.
	Case studies for completed school projects, energy benchmarking data, exemplar design solution and details of demonstration projects are also publicly available from the DfES.

Parliamentary Questions

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many written questions to his Department remained unanswered at 25 July for between  (a) two and four weeks,  (b) between four and six weeks,  (c) between six and eight weeks and  (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer.

Alistair Darling: According to the Department's parliamentary database the total number of unanswered parliamentary questions as at 25 July was 123.
	Of these 100 were tabled for answer within the last 10 working days.
	The number remaining unanswered for between two and four weeks is eight, of which only one was a named day question.
	The number remaining unanswered for between four and six weeks is six, of which only one was a named day question.
	The number remaining unanswered for between six and eight weeks is nine, of which named day questions totalled two.
	The Department aims to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day and to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of them being tabled. This is not always possible but the Department makes every effort to achieve it.

Renewable Energy

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much subsidy was paid to co-firing generators using wood supplies through the Renewables Obligation Certification Scheme in  (a) 2002 and  (b) 2005 and what estimate his Department has made of subsidy costs to co-firing generators in 2008.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Renewables Obligation, electricity suppliers can meet up to a specified percentage of their obligation through co-firing. In 2002-03 and 2005-06, this was 25 per cent. It will be 10 per cent. in 2008-09.

Renewable Energy

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the UK's total biomass requirements was supplied from harvesting of energy crops in 2005-06 and what he expects this percentage to be in 2012.

Malcolm Wicks: Short rotation coppice and miscanthus accounted for approximately 0.1 per cent. of the biomass co-fired in the 2005-06 Renewables Obligation compliance period1 April to 31 May. The Government do not hold data on the use of energy crops in dedicated biomass plant.
	The Government are keen to encourage the greater use of energy crops in co-firing, and the recent Energy Review Report (http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/review/page31995.html) contains a number of proposals in this area. These will be subject to further consultation.

Renewable Energy

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate his Department has made of the amount of UK-sourced wood that would be consumed by co-fired power stations in each year between 2006 and 2012.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Renewables Obligation, electricity suppliers are currently allowed to meet up to 10 per cent. of their Obligation from co-firing of biomass in fossil fuel stations. This will decrease to 5 per cent. for the 2011-12 compliance period1 April to 31 March.

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 864-65W, on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, what assessment he has made of the extent to which  (a) the UK interpretation by the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML), as the appointed enforcement agency for RoHS, conforms with his Department's published guidance material,  (b) his Department's guidance conforms with the European Commission's original intent and  (c) the NWML guidance conforms with the European Commission's original intention for the Directive; and which guidance is to take precedence in the UK for the RoHS Directive. [R]

Malcolm Wicks: As I said in my earlier answer, the only legally binding texts are the Directive and UK Regulations. The European Commission and the UK Government have each issued non-statutory guidance documents that aim to clarify the intent of the original legislation. NWML will enforce the RoHS Directive in line with the UK RoHS Regulations (SI 2006 No. 1463).

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 864-65W, on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, what assessment he has made of the UK interpretation by the National Weights and Measures Laboratory as the appointed enforcement agency for RoHS, of the parts of the European Commission's Frequently Asked Questions document relating to the exemption of fixed industrial manufacturing machinery as large-scale stationary industrial tools; and if he will ask the Commission to provide him with a report on whether guidance in that document is applied consistently across all member states. [R]

Malcolm Wicks: Large-scale stationary industrial tools are specifically mentioned as being outside the scope of Category 6 of the RoHS and WEEE Directives. The term 'fixed installations' does not appear in the Directive, but derives from Article 2 (1) of the WEEE Directive. In its Frequently Asked Questions non-binding guidance document, the European Commission refers to the definition of fixed installation that has been developed in connection to the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive and lists them as outside scope.
	Following discussions held in Brussels, the UK has understood that 'fixed installations' is a general derogation applying across all the categories in both Directives. Recently this understanding has been discussed by the Technical Adaptation Committee of Member States that is chaired by the Commission. It will now be up to the Commission to decide whether or not to revise its Frequently Asked Questions document, but as it stands that document currently reflects the UK's understanding.

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 864-65W, on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, if he will ask the Commission to assess whether the actions of  (a) Germany  (b) Spain and  (c) other member states on the exemption of fixed industrial manufacturing machinery as large-scale stationary industrial tools are in conformity with the Directive, and what assessment he has made of whether the National Weights and Measures Laboratory's guidance goes beyond the requirements imposed by the Restrictions of Hazardous Substances Directive. [R]

Malcolm Wicks: Since RoHS is a Single Market Directive (based on Article 95 of the EU Treaty) that aims to harmonise member states' legislation on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, it should be implemented in the same way across the European Union.
	Large-scale stationary industrial tools are specifically excluded from the scope of RoHS. The term fixed installations appears not in the text of the Directive, but in the European Commission's non-legally binding guidance document. This definition is currently under review but as it stands it reflects the UK's understanding.
	NWML enforces the RoHS Directive in line with the UK RoHS Regulations (SI 2006 No. 1463), paying due regard to both the European Commission and UK Government's guidance documents.

HEALTH

Choosing Health Agenda

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what requirement her Department places on strategic health authorities to report the rerouting of allocations from the Choosing Health agenda to offset deficits; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  which strategic health authorities have reported to her that money allocated for the Choosing Health agenda has been rerouted to offset deficits.

Andy Burnham: The 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) identify 211 million in 2006-07 and 342 million in 2007-08 to support implementation of the Choosing Health White Paper. This funding is not ring-fenced within the revenue allocations and it is for individual PCTs to decide how to use their allocations.
	Key Choosing Health deliverables are reflected in local delivery plans and monitored through public service agreements.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed on girls aged  (a) 10,  (b) 11,  (c) 12,  (d) 13,  (e) 14,  (f) 15,  (g) 16 and  (h) 17 years of age in 2005; and how many were performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.

Caroline Flint: The information is set out in statistical bulletin 2006/01, Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2005 copies of which are available in the Library and also on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/68/59/04136859.pdf.
	For confidentiality reasons, no age and ground breakdowns are available other than the detail published in the bulletin.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of women having an abortion in 2005 were married at the time of the abortion; what the statistical mode figures were for  (a) the age of the woman,  (b) the gestation of the pregnancy,  (c) the number of previous children born to the woman and  (d) the number of previous abortions undergone by the woman; and what the most common legal grounds were under which the abortion was performed.

Caroline Flint: In 2005, 17 per cent. of women having terminations were recorded as married. For all women residents in England and Wales the statistical mode in 2005 for:
	age, was 20 years;
	gestation, was eight weeks;
	number of previous children, was no previous children; and
	number of previous abortions, was no previous abortion.
	The most common ground (96 per cent. of all abortions) was that the pregnancy had not exceeded its 24th week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in  (a) Essex and  (b) Bedford and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority had an abortion in 2005 who had already had (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (v) five or more previous abortions.

Caroline Flint: The information is set out in the following table.
	Number of previous terminations(1) among women resident in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire and Essex Strategic Health Authorities having terminations in 2005
	
		
			   Number of previous terminations  
			  SHA  0  1  2  3  4 and more ( 2)  Total 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3,484 1,302 297 83 41 5,207 
			 Essex 3,463 1,146 325 84 29 50,47 
			 (1) This is across the duration of a woman's reproductive life-cycle (approximately ages 15-49) (2) Group shown for totals 10 or more, in accordance with guidance from the Office for National Statistics

Access to Work Scheme

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many disabled staff in her Department received support through the Access to Work scheme  (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) in 2006-07.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect the numbers of disabled staff receiving adaptations and equipment paid for by access to work.
	The Office of Disability Issues will be monitoring the situation to ensure that there is no detriment to current and future employees who are disabled.

Accident and Emergency Services

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1548W, on accident and emergency services, if she will list the hospitals in each category.

Rosie Winterton: National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (A and E) services they provide against definitions set by the Department for the three types of A and E. The Department does not collect information at the level of individual hospitals. My reply on 7 June 2006,  Official Report, column 707W, on A and E services, gave the number of A and E departments, by trust and by type.

Accident Reporting

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of the introduction of greater commercial pressures on healthcare providers in the NHS on the reporting of accidents and systems failure.

Andy Burnham: The Department has not undertaken a formal assessment. However, patient safety and clinical quality remain, at the heart of the national health service reforms and the changes will strengthen the incentives on provider organisations to improve the clinical quality of the services they offer to patients. Experience from leading-edge organisations in the United Kingdom and other countries shows that safe care is also efficient care.
	The responsible regulator will be assessing all providers against core standards of safety and quality. This assessment will include ensuring that providers have robust processes for continuous improvement of their safety, including local reporting and analysis of patient safety incidents and full participation in the national reporting and learning system. The National Patient Safety Agency will continue to work with NHS trusts to promote a culture of continuous quality improvement; reporting patient adverse events and near misses is a key component of that culture.
	Commissioners may also wish to incorporate quality standards in their contracts with providers, and we will be publishing information on quality indicators to help inform patient choice. These could in future include objective measures of patient safety and clinical outcomes. Extensive comparable information on the quality and safety of care will give patients and commissioners a real understanding of the quality and services available.

Acute Trusts

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the acute trusts which have ended 2005-06 financial year in deficit; how much she expects the deficit outturn to be; and what proportion of overall turnover that figure represents.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is provided in the table.
	The 2005-06 provisional unaudited financial position of all national health service organisations (strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts) was announced on 7 June and is available in the Library.
	
		
			  2005-06 provisional outturnNHS acute trusts in deficit 
			  Organisation name  Provisional outturn turnover (000)  Provisional outturn under/(over) spend (000)  Provisional outturn under/(over) spend as a percentage of turnover (percentage) 
			 Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 160,360 (40,834) (25.5) 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 207,874 (28,284) (13.6) 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 272,036 (24,064) (8.8) 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 246,308 (22,380) (9.1) 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 318,143 (21,395) (6.7) 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 89,628 (19,692) (22.0) 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 133,005 (19,199) (14.4) 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hosp NHS Trust 333,744 (16,009) (4.8) 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 153,492 (15,765) (10.3) 
			 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 238,999 (15,687) (6.6) 
			 Whipps Cross University Hosp NHS Trust 176,071 (15,602) (8.9) 
			 United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 288,929 (15,145) (5.2) 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust 299,693 (14,985) (5.0) 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 300,603 (14,589) (4.9) 
			 South Warwickshire Gen Hosps NHS Trust 85,002 (13,827) (16.3) 
			 The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 98,278 (13,394) (13.6) 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 178,147 (12,812) (7.2) 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 334,253 (12,268) (3.7) 
			 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 189,152 (12,142) (6.4) 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 168,281 (11,905) (7.1) 
			 Bedford Hospitals NHS Trust 101,355 (11,887) (11.7) 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 98,022 (11,833) (12.1) 
			 Brighton and Sussex Univ Hosps NHS Trust 311,858 (11,290) (3.6) 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Trust 99,222 (10,986) (11.1) 
			 Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust 138,955 (10,623) (7.6) 
			 Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust 222,056 (9,423) (4.2) 
			 West Middlesex University NHS Trust 103,046 (9,024) (8.8) 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 252,053 (8,994) (3.6) 
			 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 149,139 (8,805) (5.9) 
			 North Middlesex University Hosp NHS Trust 127,691 (8,166) (6.4) 
			 Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust 77,056 (7,961) (10.3) 
			 Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust 169,011 (7,560) (4.5) 
			 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust 166,012 (7,338) (4.4) 
			 George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust 83,281 (7,294) (8.8) 
			 Weston Area Health NHS Trust 68,733 (6,989) (10.2) 
			 Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 74,271 (6,535) (8.8) 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 195,801 (6,357) (3.2) 
			 Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust 113,492 (5,972) (5.3) 
			 Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 123,514 (5,857) (4.7) 
			 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 161,102 (5,847) (3.6) 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hosps NHS Trust 313,991 (5,737) (1.8) 
			 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 246,880 (4,975) (2.0) 
			 East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 223,811 (4,864) (2.2) 
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hosps NHS Trust 166,656 (3,691) (2.2) 
			 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust 103,169 (3,470) (3.4) 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Hlthcre NHS Trust 120,955 (3,045) (2.5) 
			 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 164,553 (2,907) (1.8) 
			 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust 353,928 (2,606) (0.7) 
			 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 291,403 (1,932) (0.7) 
			 Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust 158,922 (1,439) (0.9) 
			 West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust 108,859 (998) (0.9) 
			 Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust 157,556 (835) (0.5) 
			  Note:  Turnover is total operating income  Source: 2005-06 month 12 financial monitoring returns

Alzheimer's Disease

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tests are used to determine whether a patient is in the  (a) mild,  (b) moderate and  (c) severe stage of Alzheimer's; and how each stage is medically differentiated.

Ivan Lewis: A clinical judgment is based on several factors. These include a clinician's interview with the patient, and information from carers and others about factors such as memory and behaviour. On the basis of this information, the clinician makes a medical judgment on the stage of Alzheimer's reached. These judgments are often informed by mini-mental state examination scores. In research, a number of other skills are additionally used.

Ambulance Service

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time to an emergency call to the Ambulance Service was in  (a) the Ruislip-Northwood constituency and  (b) each London borough in 2005-06.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not held in the format requested, as the Department collects ambulance response time data by ambulance trust rather than by London boroughs. However, the following table shows the percentage of calls responded to within 8 to 14 minutes for the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAT).
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Category A calls responded within eight minutes LAT - 76.6(1) 
			 Category A calls responded within 14/19 minutes LAT - 95.9(1) 
			 Category B/C calls responded within 14/19 minutes LAT - 78.8(2) 81.2(3) 
			 (1) April 2004 to March 2005 (2) April to September (3) October to March

Ambulance Service

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all ambulance trusts meet national response time requirements.

Rosie Winterton: The Department sets national response time requirements for ambulance trusts, and works with the Healthcare Commission to ensure that both ambulance trusts and primary care trusts, as commissioners of ambulance services, are assessed on performance against these requirements.
	The Department performance-manages trusts through strategic health authorities.
	The Department has made available advice and tools to support trusts, both directly and through the Modernisation Agency. In addition, in 2008 changes to performance reporting will be introduced, which will align the reported response times more closely to patients' experience. To support trusts in preparing for this change, the Department is currently giving support to ambulance trusts through the provision of advice and specialist support, and the sharing of data, analysis and best practice.
	The Department is also operating a 25 million capital incentive scheme during 2006-07. A similar scheme operated in 2004-05.

Anorexia

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) male and  (b) female patients were hospitalised for anorexia in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2005; and what steps are being taken (A) to treat and (B) to prevent anorexia.

Rosie Winterton: Information on finished consultant episodes of patients with a primary diagnosis of anorexia in 1999-2000 and 2004-05 is shown in the table.
	In order to improve the identification, treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published a clinical guideline on the core interventions in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders in 2004. The guideline covers physical and psychological treatments, treatment with medicines, and what kinds of services best help people with eating disorders. It also includes information specifically for patients, carers and the public.
	The Department's five-year initiative to tackle stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health issues in England, Shift, works with young people and professionals to promote awareness of all mental health problems including eating disorders.
	The Department also supports voluntary organisations such as the Eating Disorders Association to provide information and advice for people with mental health problems in England through the mental health help lines partnership project.
	
		
			  Primary diagnosis (4 char)  R630 anorexia/F500 anorexia nervosa/F501 atypical anorexia nervosa  
			  Gender  Age group  Finished consultant episodes (FCEs) 
			  Mean and median results   
			  2004-05   
			 Male All ages 7,432 
			 Female All ages 10,269 
			 Total  17,701 
			
			  1999-2000   
			 Male All ages 7,256 
			 Female All ages 9,583 
			 Total  16,839 
			  Notes: 1. Finished consultant episode (FCE): An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. 2. All diagnoses count of episodes: These figures represent a count of all FCEs where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episodes Statistics record.

Anti-depressants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) number of prescription items and  (b) prescription expenditure was for anti-depressant drugs in 2005; and what the percentage change was between (i) 1985 and 1995, (ii) 1995 and 2005 and (iii) 1985 and 2005.

Andy Burnham: The information shown in the table represents the number of prescription items and net ingredient cost of antidepressants that have been dispensed in the community in England in 1985, 1995 and 2005, together with the percentage change between 1985 and 1995, 1995 and 2005 and 1985 and 2005.
	
		
			   Number of prescription items (millions) of antidepressants dispensed in the community in England  Net ingredient cost (NIC) ( millions) of antidepressants dispensed in the community in England 
			 1985 6.8 26.0 
			 1995 13.2 146.8 
			 2005 29.4 338.5 
		
	
	
		
			   Percentage change in items  Percentage change in NIC 
			 1985-1995 95 465 
			 1995-2005 122 131 
			 1985-2005 334 1,203 
			  Source:  Prescription pricing division of the Business Services Authority (formerly known as the Prescription Pricing Authority)

Audiology Services

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent to which the exclusion of direct referrals to audiology services from the 18-week waiting time target is consistent with the national service framework for older people.

Ivan Lewis: We recognise that older people are the largest users of audiology devices and therefore have a particular interest in waiting times for audiology services. The national service framework (NSF) for older people includes hearing as one of the senses to be investigated in assessing an older person's health and social care needs. One of the aims of the Healthy Ageing programme, in A New Ambition for Old Age, which updates the NSF, is to reduce hearing impairment as a barrier to active ageing.
	Audiology and adult hearing services in particular are mainly accessed directly by primary care and are predominantly outside the scope of the 18-week pathway, which is focused on changing traditional hospital consultant pathways. A separate national action plan is being developed on improving access to adult hearing services. The needs of older people and the NSF commitments will be taken into consideration in relation to the action plan.

Audiology Services

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 604W on audiology services, when she expects the data to be published.

Ivan Lewis: A written ministerial statement was made on 12 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 69-70WS, announcing that data on diagnostic waiting times had been released and published on the Department's website at: www.performance.doh.gov.uk/diagnostics/index.htm. This first publication of diagnostic waiting time figures will become a regular monthly release.

Audiology Services

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Aylesbury of 19 April 2006,  Official Report, column 732W, on audiology, when she expects to publish the results for the 2006 vacancy survey.

Rosie Winterton: The 2006 national health service workforce vacancy survey was published on 27 July 2006. It is available on the Information Centre for health and social care website at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/vacsurveyresmar2006.
	Copies have been placed in the Library.

Autism

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is earmarked for the diagnosis and treatment of autism in adults in 2006-07.

Ivan Lewis: It is for local councils and national health service trusts to determine how much they allocate for diagnosis and treatment of autism in adults from the funding they receive.

Autism

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parents who are carers for children with autism in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) the area corresponding as closely as possible to the Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency have received carers grants since 2001.

Ivan Lewis: This Government introduced the carers grant in 1999 to support councils in providing breaks and other services for carers in England. The grant is not paid to individuals, but is paid each year to councils as a specific formula grant. Councils can use the grant to provide a range of services for carers in their area depending on local demand and need. This may include parents caring for children with autism.

Biometric Technology

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) planned and  (b) existing projects in her Department involve the use of biometric technology.

Andy Burnham: None.

Bird and Bird Solicitors

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts were awarded by her Department to Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 1997; what the  (a) value and  (b) duration of each such contract was; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Bird and Bird have only been appointed on one contract by the Department which was to provide legal advice for the digital television project for NHS Direct.
	The expenditure by the Department on this contract is commercially confidential. The contract commenced in January 2003 and was completed in June 2006. The Department's current financial system does not hold information for years prior to 2004, and could not obtain this information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Broomfield Hospital

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress in approving the Broomfield hospital private finance initiative scheme; and when approval is expected to be given.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 24 July 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 May 2006,  Official Report, column 932W.
	Current indications are that an announcement will be made in mid-August, dependent on obtaining clearance from HM Treasury. The reappraisal report for Broomfield hospital has now been completed and we were aiming to be in a position to announce decisions from the revalidation exerciseincluding that for this trust shortly.

Care Costs

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1209W, on care costs, what the data requested are in real terms using the GDP deflator series instead of allowing for health pay and price inflation.

Andy Burnham: The average cost of delivering an episode of care in real terms using the gross domestic product deflator at 30 June 2006 is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Cost per episode () 
			 1997-98 1,131 
			 2000-01 1,165 
			 2001-02 1,075 
			 2003-04 1,082 
		
	
	There was a change in the data series between 2000-01 and 2001-02, so figures for 1997-98 and 2003-04 are not comparable.
	A patient admitted to hospital is assigned to a practitioner responsible for their treatment. This period of care is termed an episode.
	There is no data available for 1979.
	Information is not available on a comparable basis after 2003-04.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures have been taken since October 2005 to ensure that free, fresh, chilled drinking water is available to all care home residents throughout the day.

Ivan Lewis: The Care Homes Regulations state that homes must provide, in adequate quantities, suitable, wholesome and nutritious food which is varied and properly prepared and available at such time as may reasonably be required by service users. Food, in the regulations, includes drink.
	The review of the national minimum standards for care homes, which the Commission for Social Care Inspection must take into account when inspecting care homes, is ongoing and will be subject to public consultation in due course. The issue of availability of drinking water to residents is being considered as part of the review.
	As part of the Heatwave Plan for England 2006, the Department has issued Supporting vulnerable people before and during a heatwaveAdvice for care home managers and staff. This is a fact-sheet, containing advice on preparation for and dealing with the effects of a heat wave on care home residents. It includes guidance on identifying those most at risk, monitoring residents' fluid intake, particularly if they are unable to drink unaided, and ensuring that water and ice are widely available.

Cataract Operations

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cataract operations were carried out in  (a) each London strategic health authority and  (b) each London primary care trust in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the latest data available for total numbers of cataract operations by London primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) for the years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05.
	
		
			   Total procedures 
			  2004-05  
			  PCT  
			 Barnet PCT 1,161 
			 Bexley Care Trust 7,764 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 4,383 
			 Bromley PCT 5,526 
			 Camden PCT 8,107 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 1 
			 Croydon PCT 7,489 
			 Enfield PCT 2,825 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 1,869 
			 Havering PCT 6,766 
			 Hillingdon PCT 2,703 
			 Islington PCT 39,392 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 1,914 
			 Kingston PCT 8,206 
			 Lambeth PCT 5,451 
			 Southwark PCT 5,712 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 3,917 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 1,337 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 8,778 
			 Wandsworth PCT 6 
			 Westminster PCT 7,392 
			   
			  SHA  
			 North Central London SHA 52,538 
			 North East London SHA 16,882 
			 North West London SHA 17,208 
			 South East London SHA 24,453 
			 South West London SHA 19,618 
			   
			  2003-04  
			  PCT  
			 Barnet PCT 1,121 
			 Bexley Care Trust 8,787 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 3,656 
			 Bromley PCT 6,006 
			 Camden PCT 6,390 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 4 
			 Croydon PCT 9,528 
			 Ealing PCT 2 
			 Enfield PCT 2,137 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 2,691 
			 Havering PCT 4,984 
			 Hillingdon PCT 2,282 
			 Islington PCT 113,976 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 2,048 
			 Kingston PCT 11,070 
			 Lambeth PCT 6,350 
			 Southwark PCT 5,942 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 4,731 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 1,253 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 8,507 
			 Wandsworth PCT 68 
			 Westminster PCT 7,797 
			   
			  SHA  
			 North Central London SHA 124,282 
			 North East London SHA 14,748 
			 North West London SHA 17,818 
			 South East London SHA 27,085 
			 South West London SHA 25,397 
			   
			   
			  2002-03  
			  PCT  
			 Barnet PCT 902 
			 Bexley PCT 9,353 
			 Brent PCT 3,896 
			 Bromley PCT 5,030 
			 Camden PCT 6,564 
			 Croydon PCT 8,733 
			 Enfield PCT 2,304 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 1,941 
			 Havering PCT 4,134 
			 Hillingdon PCT 2,307 
			 Islington PCT 88,837 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 1,441 
			 Kingston PCT 8,482 
			 Lambeth PCT 5,859 
			 Southwark PCT 5,708 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 4,415 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 880 
			 Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT 7,788 
			 Wandsworth PCT 6 
			 Westminster PCT 6,239 
			   
			  SHA  
			 North Central London SHA 98,607 
			 North East London SHA 12,802 
			 North West London SHA 15,824 
			 South East London SHA 25,950 
			 South West London SHA 21,636

Chemotherapy/Radiotherapy

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients in England received a course of  (a) chemotherapy and  (b) radiotherapy during each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many out-patient visits there were for  (a) radiotherapy and  (b) chemotherapy was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not currently collected centrally. However, we are in the process of developing a radiotherapy episodes statistics system which should be able to provide the requested information on radiotherapy in the future. Work is also under way as part of the national programme for information technology to introduce hospital electronic prescribing, ePrescribing. This will help to provide accurate information on chemotherapy usage.

Chemotherapy/Radiotherapy

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients travelling for outpatient radiotherapy treatment did so  (a) fewer than 10 times,  (b) between 10 and 20 times,  (c) between 21 and 30 times,  (d) between 31 and 40 times,  (e) between 41 and 50 times,  (f) between 51 and 60 times and  (g) over 60 times in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Radiotherapy treatment is often fractionated, i.e. given over a number of days. This allows large doses of radiation to be given while sparing normal tissue too many side effects. Generally, radical treatments, with the aim of curing a patient, are given in more treatment fractions than palliative treatment, for symptom control.
	The fractions, that is the number of visits for treatment, that patients should be offered is a matter for the clinical judgment. The prescription will depend on the type of cancer and the intention of the treatment.
	The Department does not have reliable information to answer this question at the present time. However, we are in the process of developing a radiotherapy episodes statistics system which should be able to provide the information in the future.

Child Deaths

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what public inquiries have taken place into the deaths of children in  (a) health and  (b) social services establishments in the past 30 years.

Andy Burnham: The Department has conducted two public inquiries into the deaths of children in the last 30 years (1976 to 2006). The only one that relates to deaths of children in a health establishment is the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) inquiry, established in June 1998 and reported in July 2001.
	The BRI public inquiry followed a General Medical Council investigation into the conduct of the two surgeons and the chief executive of the trust. The inquiry was established in response to major public concern about the paediatric cardiac service at the BRI. The inquiry was an opportunity to learn lessons more widely for the national health service as a whole.
	The Victoria Climbi inquiry (April 2001 to January 2003) was also a public inquiry into the death of a child, but her death was not due to treatment received in a health establishment.
	Victoria Climbi died on 25 February 2000 in the intensive care unit at St. Mary's hospital Paddington, as a result of months of appalling ill-treatment at the hands of two individuals (Marie-Therese Kouao and Carl John Manning) who were supposed to be caring for her. The purpose of the inquiry was:
	to establish the circumstances leading to and surrounding the death of Victoria Climbi;
	to examine the services provided by the local authorities (social services), the health bodies and the police to Victoria Climbi, Marie-Therese Kouao and Carl John Manning; and
	to reach conclusions as to the circumstances leading to Victoria's death and to make recommendations to the Government on how such an event may be avoided in the future.

Child Health Interim Application

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent the working of the child health interim application has been affected by problems with  (a) computer processes and  (b) manual supporting processes.

Caroline Flint: The child health interim application (CHIA) is itself a collection of computer and manual supporting processes. The CHIA system was implemented following the withdrawal of the previous RICHS child health system. As a consequence of the migration there have been some validation and coding difficulties which are currently being addressed by Connecting for Health, the strategic health authority and the contractor (BT).
	There are also some current issues with links required to other computer systems, which are also being addressed. Manual systems have been implemented to continue to provide some of the services that were available previously.

Child Obesity

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the impact on obesity levels of children  (a) watching television and  (b) using computers and other game consoles;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact of television advertising promoting sedentary activities on children's obesity levels.

Caroline Flint: The Department has made no formal assessment of the impact that sedentary behaviour such as watching television or using computers or other game consoles has on obesity levels in children. However, a large-scale cross-national body of survey-based research conducted on children and on teenagers is emerging, which generally shows a moderate correlation between the amount of television viewed and children's diet or health.
	Although there is no clear United Kingdom evidence that obese children are more likely to have low levels of physical activity compared to non-obese children, there is plenty of evidence showing that high levels of sedentary behaviour such as watching television or playing computer games are predictive of being obese and overweight.
	The correlation could be because watching television or playing computer games does not expend any energy; in fact, it may even depress the metabolic rate. The correlation could also be owing to television and playing computer games substituting for physical exercise, or because children watch television while consuming food and drinks that are high in fat and sugar.
	As part of its work on developing a healthy living campaign, the Department is currently looking into what correlations there may be between obesity and sedentary behaviour. It has not found any clear evidence of the impact on obesity of television or video gaming but has made an intuitive assessment of a possible correlation, which has been supported by stakeholder and expert groups as part of a focus area review.

Child Vaccinations

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the level of child vaccinations in London.

Caroline Flint: The latest annual estimate of childhood vaccines was published in the Statistical bulletin NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 2004-05. A copy has been placed in the Library and is also available on The Information Centre for health and social care's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/immunisaton05/04119650.pdf/file.
	Some problems have been encountered recently in collecting data on childhood vaccinations in London. We are exploring how these problems can be rectified.
	Quarterly data are published by the Health Protection Agency in CDR weekly and is available on their website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/vaccination/vac_cover.htm
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Choose and Book

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 321W, on Choose and Book, what information she collects from  (a) primary care trusts,  (b) acute trusts and  (c) strategic health authorities on their allocation of budgets for Choose and Book.

Ivan Lewis: None.

Choose and Book

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 321W on choose and book, what assessment her Department has made of the likely financial impact of the choose and book system programme on local trusts and authorities.

Ivan Lewis: Choose and Book will help commissioners and providers to manage resources efficiently by providing real-time information about demand in terms of referrals. The effect of this in a particular area depends on the response of managers and clinicians to the available information.
	In terms of implementation costs, primary care trusts (PCTs) are being reimbursed for the short-term cost of upgrading existing general practitioner practice systems so that they align with Choose and Book. PCTs have also received centrally funded support to resolve technical issues, and to pay for the necessary project management resource required locally. Funding is also available for acute trusts to support a technical upgrade to existing patient administration systems to make them align with Choose and Book.

Clinically Qualified Staff

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinically qualified staff are employed by the NHS in non-clinical roles.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Colonoscopy

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the likely change in the number of colonoscopies carried out each year under the NHS following the adoption of the new national guidelines on colonoscopy use.

Andy Burnham: No estimate has been made centrally of likely changes to the number of colonoscopies carried out following publication of the British Society of Gastroenterology's report 'Care of Patients with Gastrointestinal Disorders in the United Kingdom: A Strategy for the future'. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	The Department is, however, in the process of agreeing local delivery plans with strategic health authorities which, for the first time, will include the number of colonoscopies planned for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Community Hospitals

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) letters and  (b) other representations her Department has received on (i) Cranleigh Village Hospital and (ii) the future of Royal Surrey County Hospital.

Caroline Flint: A search of the Department's correspondence database shows that there were approximately 38 completed cases on Cranleigh Village Hospital between September 2005 and to date. There were approximately 47 completed cases on Royal Surrey County Hospital between September 2005 and to date.
	On 27 July 2005, my noble Friend (Lord Warner), the Minister of State responsible for NHS reform, had a meeting with a delegation to discuss Cranleigh Village Hospital. On 30 August 2005, my noble Friend wrote to Baroness Sharp of Guildford about Cranleigh Village Hospital, and on 26 April 2006, my noble Friend received a letter from Baroness Sharp of Guildford about this issue.

Community Hospitals

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to ensure that community hospitals can provide a comprehensive service for people who have  (a) multiple sclerosis and  (b) other complex and fluctuating conditions.

Andy Burnham: Decision-making on specific local healthcare provision, including services for people who have multiple sclerosis and other complex and fluctuating conditions, is a matter for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities in consultation with the local population.
	However, the Department expects national health service organisations to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on multiple sclerosis care, published in November 2003, and the national service framework for long-term conditions, published in March 2005.

Community Hospitals

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the number of community hospital beds likely to be needed in Gloucestershire over the next  (a) five and  (b) 10 years.

Andy Burnham: It is for primary care trusts to assess and commission services to meet the needs of the populations that they serve.

Community Hospitals

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her Oral Statement of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 826W, on community hospitals, 
	(1)  how many community hospitals have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in the Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority area since 1997; and how many are being considered for closure;
	(2)  how many community hospitals in the Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority area she assesses as having Victorian workhouse facilities.

Andy Burnham: No community hospitals have been either opened or closed in the former Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority area since 1997. NHS West Midlands reports that only one community hospital in the areaWestcliffe hospital, operated by North Stoke primary care trustis assessed as having Victorian workhouse facilities.

Continuing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 321W, on continuing care, if she will provide the information broken down by  (a) strategic health authority and  (b) primary care trust.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Chairman of the West Midlands South Strategic Health Authority will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 9 January, 10 April, 23 May and 6 June about the treatment of his constituents for sleep apnoea.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 24 July 2006
	I have referred this matter to the chief executive of the NHS West Midlands Strategic Health Authority. I have asked the chief executive to look into this matter and to reply directly to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Dentistry

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentistry practices are  (a) serving NHS patients and  (b) open to take on new NHS patients in each primary care trust in Hampshire.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of practices serving national health service patients and open to take on new NHS patients is not available centrally.
	Provisional management estimates on the number of signed and rejected contracts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority (SHAnow part of South Central SHA) area is available and is provided in the following table by primary care trust.
	The table also sets out the estimated level of NHS services associated with accepted contracts compared with that of rejected contracts, based on weighted courses of treatment, or units of dental activity.
	A contract may be for either a practice or an individual dentist.
	Primary care trusts are using the funding associated with rejected contracts to commission additional services from other dentists.
	
		
			   Number of contracts signed  Number of contracts rejected  Estimated level of NHS services associated with accepted contracts compared with rejected contracts (percentage) 
			 Blackwater Valley and Hart Primary Care Trust (PCT) 26 6 86.9 
			 East Hampshire PCT 31 6 82.4 
			 Eastleigh and Test Valley South PCT 20 11 82.3 
			 Fareham and Gosport PCT 34 8 79.8 
			 Isle of Wight PCT 19 0 100.0 
			 Mid-Hampshire PCT 21 7 95.9 
			 New Forest PCT 25 8 92.3 
			 North Hampshire PCT 38 6 81.8 
			 Portsmouth City PCT 30 4 91.5 
			 Southampton City PCT 34 4 99.2 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA 278 60 89.8

Dentistry

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have left the NHS in the East Midlands strategic health authority in the last three years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): Number of national health service dentists who have left the GDS or PDS in the specified strategic health authorities (SHA) areas, by parliamentary constituency, during the 12 months ending 31 March each year 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			 Trent SHA 54 50 41 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 20 23 27 
			 Amber Valley 0 1 2 
			 Ashfield 1 4 3 
			 Bassetlaw 0 0 4 
			 Blaby 3 5 1 
			 Bolsover 0 2 0 
			 Boston and Skegness 2 1 0 
			 Bosworth 0 0 1 
			 Broxtowe 2 4 1 
			 Charnwood 1 1 0 
			 Chesterfield 4 3 0 
			 Corby 1 2 2 
			 Daventry 3 4 1 
			 Derby North 5 1 2 
			 Derby South 5 1 2 
			 Erewash 1 3 2 
			 Gainsborough 0 0 0 
			 Gedling 3 2 0 
			 Grantham and Stamford 1 0 2 
			 Harborough 3 0 0 
			 High Peak 5 4 1 
			 Kettering 0 2 1 
			 Leicester East 0 0 5 
			 Leicester South 0 0 2 
			 Leicester West 0 1 2 
			 Lincoln 5 5 4 
			 Loughborough 0 1 4 
			 Louth and Horncastle 3 2 2 
			 Mansfield 2 2 2 
			 Newark 1 1 1 
			 North East Derbyshire 2 2 1 
			 North West Leicestershire 0 0 1 
			 Northampton North 1 3 2 
			 Northampton South 4 2 3 
			 Nottingham East 4 5 2 
			 Nottingham North 2 1 3 
			 Nottingham South 2 1 6 
			 Rushcliffe 2 3 2 
			 Rutland and Melton 2 0 3 
			 Sherwood 2 1 0 
			 Sleaford and North Hykeham 0 1 0 
			 South Derbyshire 2 2 1 
			 South Holland and The Deepings 1 0 0 
			 Wellingborough 3 3 0 
			 West Derbyshire 2 0 0 
			  Notes:  1. Leavers indicate that the dentist had an open GDS or PDS contract as at 1 April of the previous year but no GDS or PDS contract as at 31 March of the specified year.  2. A dentist may have left a GDS or PDS contract within more than one parliamentary constituency or both SHA areas, in which case they would appear in figures for each individual constituency and SHA. For this reason, figures for individual constituencies and SHAs cannot be summed.  3. Data has been provided for years ending 31 March 2004 to 2006, which are prior to the recent SHA boundary changes. The SHA boundaries supplied are as they were at the time.  4. A dentist with a GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the primary care trust. Information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual GDS or PDS dentists are not centrally available.  5. Dentists consist of principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts have been excluded.  6. Areas have been defined using the Office of National Statistics all fields postcode directory.   Sources:  The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority

Dentistry

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists from those countries which joined the EU in 2004 have applied for full registration as dentists in the UK.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 July 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 20 July 2006,  Official Report, column 659W.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 14 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2150W, on dentistry, if she will make a statement on the position at the end of May; and when she intends to publish information relating to the end of June.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of contracts signed in dispute that were still in dispute as of 31 May and 30 June, and the proportion of the total contracts signed that this represents by strategic health authority, was made available on 4 August and is available at:
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk/dental_contracts Copies have also been placed in the Library.

Dentistry

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the gross cost was of  (a) dental fees for items of service and  (b) dental treatments in each of the last five years; and how much of the cost was borne by patients (i) in total and (ii) as a percentage of the overall cost in (A) England and (B) each region.

Rosie Winterton: The main element of national health service dental services in the last five years has been the primary dental care services provided by dentists working within the general dental services (CDS) or personal dental services (PDS) pilots.
	The tables, which have been placed in the Library, show the available CDS data on gross item of service fees and patient registration payments, together with the cost of certain additional payments made to dental contractors, and patient charge income for CDS contracts in England and each strategic health authority area for the financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06. The data excludes certain elements of gross costs, such as employers' superannuation contributions, vocational trainee salaries and expenses, and the cost of salaried general dental practitioners and emergency dental services, where data is not readily available in this localised format.
	The PDS pilots were generally based not on item of service fees but on regular contract payments for defined services. Localised data on PDS expenditure are only available for the financial year 2004-05. The data include regular PDS contract payments but excludes some additional payments authorised locally. They also exclude the cost of PDS services directly managed by NHS trusts such as some dental access centres. Data on PDS charge income may also be incomplete because some primary care trusts (PCTs) instituted temporary arrangements to collect charge income directly from dentists. These factors make it very difficult to make comparisons between the 2004-05 and 2005-06 data, when PDS pilot schemes rapidly expanded, and earlier periods.
	Charge income levels will have been influenced by the proportion of services delivered by PDS contractors, who until the reform of primary care services introduced from April 2006 were required to apply the patient charge regime originally designed for the item of service remuneration system operating within CDS. This patient charge regime was not sensitive to the new ways of working and treatment patterns associated with PDS contracts, and generally resulted in lower levels of charge income within PDS pilot schemes. In addition, as noted above, some PCTs have collected some patient charges direct from PDS dentists locally and this income may not be reflected in the centrally recorded data. All these factors will have distorted the proportion of patient charge income recovered particularly in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Dentistry

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) fillings and  (b) extractions were carried out on children's teeth in (i) England and (ii) each region in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The spreadsheet provides data for the year ending 31 March 2002 for England and by health authority and for the years ending 31 March 2004, 2005 and 2006 for England and by strategic health authority.
	Information was not centrally analysed for 2002-03. This could now be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  General Dental Services (GDS) and Personal Dental Services (PDS): Number of fillings and extractions carried out on children's teeth in England by strategic health authority as at year ending 31 March 2004-31 March 2006 
			   Teeth filled  Teeth extracted 
			   2004  2005  2006  2004  2005  2006 
			 England 3,343,589 4,039,247 4,089,417 662,257 829,758 867,077 
			
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 119,452 158,090 146,862 23,527 28,726 27,631 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 113,177 144,103 158,115 25,090 33,917 36,637 
			 Essex SHA 92,558 118,772 118,059 21,567 27,670 27,697 
			 North West London SHA 121,961 155,334 169,541 24,863 30,114 32,464 
			 North Central London SHA 92,317 119,781 118,478 15,763 19,655 20,221 
			 North East London SHA 132,772 172,385 179,513 25,663 33,922 34,131 
			 South East London SHA 111,610 145,516 142,081 19,583 24,860 24,630 
			 South West London SHA 83,318 104,945 113,895 14,228 18,457 18,101 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA 117,992 137,451 121,743 16,888 21,315 19,740 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 111,088 131,880 122,541 21,488 25,918 26,142 
			 North and East Yorks and Northern Lincs SHA 103,086 119,438 116,112 21,922 25,997 25,880 
			 West Yorkshire SHA 180,180 211,079 187,146 34,198 42,972 48,257 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 139,212 161,740 155,680 26,441 33,874 31,886 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 217,933 230,926 232,711 36,968 42,425 45,756 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 161,502 142,952 175,445 35,160 36,816 48,308 
			 Thames Valley SHA 103,711 134,556 151,356 25,740 34,529 37,133 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA 104,768 123,547 121,060 18,322 21,765 22,135 
			 Kent and Medway SHA 112,951 136,339 141,587 26,761 31,712 33,451 
			 Surrey and Sussex SHA 158,011 197,306 196,914 31,846 40,193 40,676 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 132,987 171,479 165,955 26,316 35,017 34,708 
			 South West Peninsula SHA 108,090 114,977 130,300 18,936 21,663 28,027 
			 Dorset and Somerset SHA 70,777 86,761 87,064 12,693 15,362 16,710 
			 South Yorkshire SHA 108,404 122,846 112,415 17,934 23,867 22,135 
			 Trent SHA 156,460 182,314 181,995 34,647 43,544 43,253 
			 Leics, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 93,047 124,633 126,345 20,731 25,586 27,279 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 86,778 108,946 106,102 17,529 23,103 23,830 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 132,303 181,663 206,961 27,954 40,254 44,834 
			 Coventry, Warks, Herefordshire and Worc SHA 80,385 99,488 103,441 19,907 26,525 25,425 
			  Note:  Year ending March 2006 data are for PDS and GDS. All previous data are for GDS only.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care and NHS Business Services Authority 
		
	
	
		
			  General Dental Services (GDS): Number of fillings and extractions carried out on children's teeth in England by health authority as at year ending 31 March 2002 
			   Teeth filled  Teeth extracted 
			 England 4,831,587 936,844 
			
			  North   
			 Bradford 50,667 9,631 
			 Bury and Rochdale 44,592 8,280 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees 77,339 12,796 
			 County Durham and Darlington 67,946 10,792 
			 East Lancashire 55,905 11,668 
			 East Riding and Hull 58,621 15,961 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside 43,885 5,756 
			 Leeds 85,555 18,678 
			 Liverpool 50,527 11,682 
			 Manchester 62,731 8,992 
			 Morecambe Bay 28,794 5,917 
			 Newcastle and North Tyneside 52,794 6,298 
			 North Cheshire 27,549 5,473 
			 North Cumbria 36,356 4,637 
			 North West Lancashire 48,548 7,481 
			 North Yorkshire 74,004 13,918 
			 Northumberland 34,847 4,468 
			 Salford and Trafford 51,217 10,527 
			 Sefton 33,742 6,052 
			 South Cheshire 54,322 12,407 
			 South Lancashire 33,157 6,974 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley 38,822 7,784 
			 Stockport 32,344 6,821 
			 Sunderland 40,164 6,027 
			 Tees 91,043 17,500 
			 Wakefield 41,755 7,574 
			 West Pennine 63,177 13,502 
			 Wigan and Bolton 70,750 12,236 
			 Wirral 36,264 7,898 
			
			  Midlands   
			 Barnsley 28,272 4,601 
			 Birmingham 82,727 18,583 
			 Coventry 22,838 4,994 
			 Doncaster 38,077 7,756 
			 Dudley 22,939 4,077 
			 Herefordshire 16,072 3,152 
			 Leicestershire 84,565 17,453 
			 Lincolnshire 37,684 9,952 
			 North Derbyshire 41,545 6,828 
			 North Nottingham 36,476 7,374 
			 North Staffordshire 49,893 7,903 
			 Nottingham 70,060 13,454 
			 Rotherham 25,092 5,133 
			 Sandwell 30,996 6,164 
			 Sheffield 63,109 9,135 
			 Shropshire 38,910 7,763 
			 Solihull 15,320 3,434 
			 South Derbyshire 45,664 10,559 
			 South Humber 28,292 6,294 
			 South Staffordshire 38,091 8,498 
			 Walsall 17,344 3,288 
			 Warwickshire 38,554 7,665 
			 Wolverhampton 20,555 3,890 
			 Worcestershire 35,000 10,290 
			
			  London   
			 Barking and Havering 42,307 8,692 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey 87,410 16,155 
			 Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich 76,326 15,073 
			 Brent and Harrow 60,184 13,789 
			 Camden and Islington 39,843 4,666 
			 Croydon 37,656 5,528 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 73,414 14,431 
			 East London and The City 89,325 15,348 
			 Hillingdon 22,628 3,846 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 24,027 3,248 
			 Kingston and Richmond 24,965 4,706 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 83,151 9,332 
			 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 63,988 10,925 
			 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 57,851 9,930 
			
			  South ex London   
			 Avon South 92,159 21,736 
			 Bedfordshire 50,560 10,436 
			 Berkshire 56,175 12,648 
			 Buckinghamshire 50,933 9,684 
			 Cambridge 51,860 11,625 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 52,805 7,318 
			 Dorset 55,109 9,637 
			 East Kent 69,473 12,558 
			 East Surrey 30,394 6,356 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 63,677 12,347 
			 Gloucestershire 44,329 9,346 
			 Hertfordshire 106,671 22,349 
			 Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 51,468 10,584 
			 Norfolk 62,203 10,900 
			 North and East Devon 40,741 9,225 
			 North and Mid Hampshire 41,643 8,581 
			 North Essex 79,342 16,365 
			 Northamptonshire 40,798 11,122 
			 Oxfordshire 45,132 9,250 
			 Somerset 42,795 8,174 
			 South and West Devon 63,891 12,193 
			 South Essex 72,575 16,411 
			 Southampton and SW Hampshire 43,870 8,313 
			 Suffolk 47,097 9,571 
			 West Kent 102,709 23,483 
			 West Surrey 48,232 10,041 
			 West Sussex 75,481 14,082 
			 Wiltshire 51,625 10,941 
			  Note:  These data are for GDS only.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care and NHS Business Services Authority

Dentistry

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) children,  (b) adults and  (c) the population in (i) England and (ii) each region were registered with a dentist in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The table showing the proportion of adults and children registered with a national health service dentist in England and by strategic health authority as at 30 March in each specified year has been placed in the Library. These data reflect the 15-month registration period that applied in the general dental services until 31 March 2006 and therefore exclude some patients who attend less regularly and patients seen at dental access centres.

Dentistry

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS general dental practices in Selby and York primary care trust area  (a) have agreed,  (b) are in dispute over and  (c) have declined to agree to the new NHS dental contract; whether the practices which have declined the new contract will continue to treat NHS patients; how many NHS patients are treated by each such practice; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of dentists or dental practices who have signed the new contract and the number who have not signed is not available centrally. We do however have some provisional information that covers contracts. A contract may well be for more than one dentist so cannot be broken down further to individual dentist level. These management estimates show that in Selby and York primary care trust:
	
		
			   Number/Percentage 
			  Contracts signed  
			 Number 28 
			 Approximate Units of dental activity (UDA) value 431,750 
			   
			  Contracts still in discussion  
			 Number 1 
			 Approximate UDA value 4,400 
			   
			  Contracts rejected  
			 Number 11 
			 Approximate UDA value 20,229 
			 Percentage UDAs 4.4 
			   
			  Contracts signed  
			 Number signed without dispute 26 
			 Number signed in dispute 2 
			 Percentage disputes 7.1 
		
	
	This information is not validated and represents a snapshot of the position in early April. If a contract has been rejected by a practice or a dentist, that practice or dentist is then no longer able to provide national health service treatment. Where practices leave the NHS, the Selby and York primary care trust will look to re-provide NHS services according to the needs of its local population.

Dentistry

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are registered with NHS general dental practitioners in Selby and York primary care trust area; and how many were registered in each of the past 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The following table shows the number of national health service patients registered with an NHS dentist in Selby and York primary care trust as at 30 March in each specified year.
	
		
			  General dental services (CDS) and personal dental services (PDS) 
			   Number 
			 1997 145,339 
			 1998 151,068 
			 1999 145,579 
			 2000 146,529 
			 2001 150,105 
			 2002 151,931 
			 2003 155,321 
			 2004 160,357 
			 2005 154,513 
			 2006 152,471 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority. 
		
	
	Under the new dental system, the concept of registration no longer forms part of the remuneration system. The Department is introducing a comparable means of monitoring the number of patients covered by NHS dental services, but the transition to the new arrangements means that it will be autumn before the new measure is available.
	Information will be available in due course via the NHS Business Services Authority on the numbers of patients who receive care or treatment from NHS primary care dentists on one or more occasions within a given period. This will provide a measure that is broadly similar to that of patient registration under the former system of CDS. We expect the first information to be available in the autumn.

Dentistry

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid by the NHS to general dental practitioners in Selby and York in each year since 1996-97  (a) in total and  (b) on average per NHS dentist.

Rosie Winterton: The main element of national health service dental services is the primary dental care services provided by dentists working in the general dental service (GDS) or personal dental service (PDS) pilots.
	The following table shows the available data on the main components of expenditure on those services in the Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) from 1997-98 to 2005-06. Comparable localised data for previous years are not available. As the notes to the table record, certain other elements of GDS and PDS costs are also excluded because they are not readily available on a localised basis.
	Payments to dentists as shown in the following table represent remuneration for the provision of dental services. As independent contractors, dentists are responsible for meeting their own practice expenses. Remuneration levels reflect the volume of NHS work undertaken by dental contractors, which can vary from practice to practice and may not equate to a full-time commitment to NHS services.
	
		
			  GDS and PDS payments to dentists in Selby and York PCT area from 1997-98 to 2005-06( 1,2,3,4,5) 
			   Gross NHS payment ( million)  Number of GDS/PDS dentists as at 30 September  Average gross NHS payment per dentist () 
			 1997-98 6.760 105 64,382 
			 1998-99 7.473 113 66,134 
			 1999-2000 7.982 117 68,225 
			 2000-01 8.354 117 71,405 
			 2001-02 8.908 128 69,590 
			 2002-03 9.439 131 72,056 
			 2003-04 9.792 136 72,001 
			 2004-05 10.007 136 73,582 
			 2005-06 11.545 148 78,006 
			 (1) Gross NHS payment is the sum of those GDS and PDS payments itemised in note 2 which were due to GDS and PDS contractors. Actual payments are made net of any patient charge revenue already collected by the dentists concerned and retained against the sums due. Some dentists may undertake work in more than one PCT area, but only earnings in Selby and York PCT area are included in this data.  (2) Total GDS payments include adult fees (including item of service and continuing care payments), child fees (including item of service and capitation payments), commitment payments and point of treatment check payment training (in 2001 only), seniority payments, maternity/paternity/adoptive leave payments, long term sick leave payments, continuing professional development allowances including travel hours, reimbursement of business rates, vocational training grants and clinical audit payments. The following costs are excluded from this data: employer's superannuation costs, vocational trainee salaries and National Insurance contribution costs, clinical audit convenors, clinical audit secretarial support costs and travel expenses, and costs associated with any salaried general dental practitioners and emergency dental services.  (3) PDS payments and PDS patient charge revenue data are included for 2004-05 and 2005-06 only. PDS payments relate to baseline payments or the agreed regular monthly payments made to PDS practices. Certain additional or supplementary payments may be excluded. Reliable PDS data at practice level are not available prior to 2004-05. The data cannot identify the cost of any PDS services that are directly managed by local NHS Trusts, such as certain dental access centres.  (4) Payments are assigned to areas on the basis of practice postcode data.  (5) Payment information at PCT level is not available prior to 1997-98.

Dentistry

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) adults and  (b) children have been on Selby and York Primary Care Trust's waiting list for registering with an NHS dentist in each month since the list was established.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Dentistry

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been  (a) deregistered and  (b) newly registered with NHS dentists in Selby and York Primary Care Trust in each month since July 2004.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Dentistry

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in  (a) Heswall and  (b) Wirral, South have ceased to provide NHS dental services since April.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in her Department have had  (a) five or more,  (b) four,  (c) three and  (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: The required information for the three financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2000-06 
			 Five or more periods 28 10 31 
			 Four periods 23 20 33 
			 Three periods 68 37 54 
			 Two periods 111 83 107

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of her staff are  (a) under and  (b) over 55 years of age.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the following table. The numbers are staff in post (full-time equivalents) as at 31 December 2005:
	
		
			   Number of staff 
			 Under 55 2,181 
			 55 and over 308 
			 Total 2,489

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people over the age of 55 have been recruited to her Department in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the following table. The figures represent full-time equivalent numbers of staff aged 55 and over.
	
		
			   Number of staff 
			 2003 10.5 
			 2004 9.6 
			 2005 15.2

Departmental Strategies

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing an urgent care strategy; what discussions her Department has had with other organisations to facilitate the development of the urgent care strategy; and who will draw up the urgent care strategy.

Andy Burnham: Work on the development of the urgent care strategy is in progress, and discussions are under way with a number of stakeholders.
	Our aim is to produce a consultation document later in the year.

Departmental Surveys

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what surveys her Department has carried out in each year since 1990; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The following details are in respect of statistical surveys. Full information requested cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.
	The list of Department sponsored social surveys since 1990 is available at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/PublishedSurvey/fs/en.
	Since 1 April 2005, the following survey results were published by the Information Centre for health and social care and have been placed in the Library.
	Processes are in place to ensure that collections of information are appropriate for their purpose and minimise the burdens on those submitting the data.

Depression

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on  (a) drug treatments and  (b) therapeutic treatments for mild to severe depression in each year from 1997 to 2005 (i) in total and (ii) broken down by age.

Rosie Winterton: The total cost of antidepressant medicines prescribed by the national health service in England between 1997 and 2005 is shown in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1:- NHS anti-depressant prescription medications in England 1997 to 2005 
			   Value of antidepressant items prescribed on the NHS in England (000) 
			 1997 239,120,545 
			 1998 279,004,273 
			 1999 315,269,246 
			 2000 310,378,169 
			 2001 341,660,880 
			 2002 380,883,112 
			 2003 395,178,028 
			 2004 400,681,709 
			 2005 338,546,700 
			  Source:  Prescription pricing authority of the Business Services Authority (formerly known as the Prescription Pricing Authority) 
		
	
	Age-based prescription data covering all age groups are not available. This information is collected for groups where prescription charge exemptions existthose aged zero to 15 years and 16 to 18 years and those in full-time education and people aged 60 or overbut not for other age categories.
	Information about spending on psychological therapies by the national health service in England is available for each year from 2001-02 to 2004-05 from the national survey of investment in mental health services reports, and this is shown in Table 2. Information about spending on psychological therapies which were delivered in primary care is not held centrally by the Department; nor is information collected on spending on psychological therapies by age groups.
	
		
			  Table 2: National survey of investment in mental health services: planned spending on psychological therapies 
			   Planned spending on psychological therapy services by the NHS in England 2001-02 to 2005-06 (not primary care) (000) 
			 2001-02 103,471,000 
			 2002-03 122,052,000 
			 2003-04 129,352,000 
			 2004-05 141,378,000 
			 2005-06 142,047,000 
			 Source:  National survey of investment in mental health strategies 2001-02 to 2005-06

Diagnostic Tests/Treatment

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her Department's publication of data on diagnostic tests' waiting times, if she will publish overall waiting times for patients from GP referral to the start of treatment.

Andy Burnham: The national health service will be required to report referral to treatment times from January 2007. The Department will publish this data later in 2007.

Diagnostic Tests/Treatment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 323W, on diagnostic treatment (independent sector), what the reasons are for the delay in the start date beyond that set out in Health reform in England: Update and Next Steps, published 13 December 2005.

Ivan Lewis: Discussions are drawing to a close with bidders on all seven regional diagnostic schemes. Full services are expected to be provided from next year, but the first scheme may begin to provide some services from November 2006. The commencement date has moved from October to better meet local national health service needs.

Diamorphine

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with the supplier to the NHS of diamorphine on ensuring its availability in all English hospitals.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 374W.

Diamorphine

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had on the potential for using poppies grown in Afghanistan to alleviate the shortage of diamorphine hydrochloride for medical use.

Andy Burnham: None. The shortage of diamorphine injection is due to production capacity constraints in relation to the finished product, and is not related to the availability of diamorphine raw material. There are no supply problems with diamorphine raw material.

Drug Eluting and Metal Stents

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of use of  (a) drug eluting and  (b) bare metal stents is in the NHS; and what assessment she has made of the effect on costs in the NHS of their use.

Rosie Winterton: National information on the rate of use of bare metal stents is not available.
	Since the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its guidance on the use of coronary artery stents in October 2003 there has been an increase in the use of drug eluting stents. This increase has been reflected by an adjustment to the national tariff of 25.5 million in 2006-07 to take account of the additional costs of implementing the NICE guidance.

Drug Treatment Rehabilitation Places

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) residential and  (b) in-patient- specialist drug treatment rehabilitation places there are in the northern region; and where each centre is located.

Caroline Flint: As there is no northern region as such, the following information represents the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber Government regions. Information relating to numbers of in-patient beds and treatment spaces is not available for any of these areas.
	 1. North West
	 Residential rehabilitation
	The National Treatment Agency's (NTA) online directory of residential rehabilitation services lists a total of 19 services located in the north west. The total number of beds in all of these services is 320.
	The services are located in Crumpsall, Oldham, Wirral, two services; Ramsbottom, Chester, two services; Gisburn, two services; St Anne's on Sea, two services; Lancaster, Prestwich, Middleton, Collyhurst, Blackburn, Rochdale and Workington.
	The total number of clients in residential rehabilitation in the north-west in 2005-06, according to the national drug treatment monitoring system (NDTMS), was 624.
	 Inpatient treatment
	The NTA's recently published review of in-patient treatment, Dr. Ed Day, 2005, found a total of 16 services providing in-patient treatment for drug misuse in the north west. These services are located in Oxton, Macclesfield, Gisburn, two services; Lancaster, Carlisle, Liverpool, Prestwich, Chester, two services; St Anne's on Sea, Biston, Hale, Preston, Ashton under Lyme and Collyhurst.
	The total number of clients in in-patient treatment in the north-west in 2005-06, according to the NDTMS, was 1095.
	 2. North East
	 Residential rehabilitation
	The NTA's online directory of residential rehabilitation services lists a total of three services located in the north-east. The total number of beds in all of these services is 86.
	The services are located in Middlesbrough, Tyne and Wear and Sunderland.
	The total number of clients in residential rehabilitation in the north-east in 2005-06, from NDTMS, was 95.
	 In-patient treatment
	The NTA's recently published review of in-patient treatment, Dr. Ed Day, 2005, found a total of seven services providing in-patient treatment for drug misuse in the north-east.
	These services are located in Consett, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, South Shields and Sunderland.
	The total number of clients in in-patient treatment in the north-east in 2005-06, according to the NDTMS, was 111.
	 3. Yorkshire and Humber
	 Residential rehabilitation
	The NTA's online directory of residential rehabilitation services lists a total of seven services located in Yorkshire and Humber. The total number of beds in all of these services is 176.
	The services are located in Scarborough, Harrogate, Bridlington, Sheffield, two services, Leeds and Hull.
	The total number of clients in residential rehabilitation in Yorkshire and Humber in 2005-06 from NDTMS was 287.
	 In-patient treatment
	The NTA's recently-published review of in-patient treatment, Dr. Ed Day, 2005, found a total of 14 services providing in-patient treatment for drug misuse in Yorkshire and Humber. These services are located in Barnsley, York, Sheffield, three services, Bradford, two services, Harrogate, Doncaster, Scarborough, Northallerton, Dewsbury, Rotherham and Whitby.
	The total number of clients in in-patient treatment in Yorkshire and Humber in 2005-06, from NDTMS was 365.

Drugs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on drugs for NHS  (a) in-patients and  (b) out-patients in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The table shows the estimated list price cost of drugs issued to in-patients and out-patients in hospitals in each year from 2001 to 2005.
	
		
			  Estimated list price cost ( billion) of medicines issued in hospitals in England 
			  List price cost ( billion) 
			   In-patients  Out-patients 
			 2001 1.2 0.4 
			 2002 1.2 0.6 
			 2003 1.4 0.7 
			 2004 1.5 0.8 
			 2005 1.5 0.9 
		
	
	The information in the table does not take into account medicines prescribed in hospitals but dispensed in the community (on a FP10 HP form) or drugs dispensed in the community, primary care, in England.
	The estimated list price costs are based on published prices from the drug tariff and other standard price lists. Therefore this is not a true reflection of the actual expenditure by hospitals as most purchases are made on contract with individual manufacturers or wholesalers at lower prices.
	Hospitals assign drugs to in-patients/out-patients differentlyfor example, take out drugstherefore care must be taken with this data.

Echocardiography Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent work has been undertaken by her Department to define future demand for echocardiography services.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not undertaken any specific recent work to define future demand for echocardiography services. However, there is a national target that by 2008 all patients will be treated within 18 weeks of general practitioner referral, and this will include diagnostics such as echocardiography. Reducing waiting times for diagnostics is central to delivering the 18-week patient pathway. The national health service began measuring waiting times for long wait diagnostic tests for the first time this year to assess the scale of the 18-week challenge.

Elective Care Work Force Resource Pack

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when her Department published the Elective Care Work Force Resource Pack; and if she will place a copy in the Library;
	(2)  when her Department published the Christmas tree work force plans for imaging and endoscopy; and if she will place a copy in the Library.

Andy Burnham: The 18-week work force resource pack was published in April 2006 and can be found at www.18weeks.nhs.uk. Copies have been placed in the Library. The pack includes support and advice on work force modelling (known as Christmas trees) for the 18-week work force including elective care and diagnostics (imaging, endoscopy, physiological measurement and pathology).

Emergency and Acute Admissions

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department gives NHS Trusts on safe travelling times for  (a) heart attack and  (b) stroke patients for emergency admissions; how many hospitals in England accept acute admissions; and how many hospitals which accept acute admissions have people in their catchment area living more than one hour from the hospital.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease includes the recommendation that ambulance services put in place systems of care that transfer people with suspected heart attack to hospital in less than 30 minutes from the call. Response times are set for ambulance trusts to reach the scene of an incident.
	The NSF standard, which national health service organisations are working towards, is that people with heart attack are treated within 60 minutes of calling for professional help. In most parts of the country, ambulance trusts are training paramedics to treat patients with clot-busting drugs before arrival at hospital. Fifty-eight per cent. of patients are currently treated within 60 minutes of calling for help, compared with 24 per cent. before the NSF.
	The Department has not issued guidance on safe travelling times for stroke patients. However, revised guidance on management of stroke for ambulance services is due to be issued by the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee.
	The Department does not collect hospital level data. Population data at hospital or trust level are not collected centrally as NHS trusts do not have specific catchment areas. However, the Department collects data which showed that 286 NHS organisations (NHS trusts, primary care trusts and care trusts) had beds in acute wards open overnight in England in 2004-05. This figure is not necessarily the number of trusts in England that accept acute admissions. Some trusts may accept acute admissions and not have a ward classified as acute.

Emergency Readmissions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency readmissions there have been in each quarter since 1997; and what the rate of patients readmitted as an emergency was for each quarter.

Rosie Winterton: The data requested are shown in the table. Prior to 2002-03 data was only collected on a 75 and over age basis. This was expanded in 2002-03 to include all age ranges. Information is not collected on what proportion of readmissions may be due to something being amiss with the treatment in the previous hospital spell. Some patients and clinicians agree that it is better that the patient is discharged early and risk readmission.
	
		
			  Emergency admissions within 28 days of discharge for England 
			  Financial year/ quarter  Number of people readmitted as an emergency within 28 days of discharge  Rate( 1)  of 28 day emergency readmission (percentage) 
			  Data for patients of all ages from 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  2002-03   
			 Q1 125,085 5.4 
			 Q2 124,176 5.3 
			 Q3 131,704 5.5 
			 Q4 138,773 5.5 
			
			  2003-04   
			 Q1 135,153 5.6 
			 Q2 136,701 5.5 
			 Q3 143,187 5.7 
			 Q4 146,703 5.7 
			
			  2004-05   
			 Q1 149,165 5.9 
			 Q2 153,282 5.9 
			 Q3 157,828 5.9 
			 Q4 172,515 6.3 
			
			  2005-06   
			 Q1 167,012 6.3 
			 Q2 173,459 6.6 
			 Q3 187,069 6.7 
			 Q4 198,777 7.1 
			
			  Data for patients aged 75 and over from 1996-97 to 2001-02 
			  1996-97   
			 Q4 23,625 7.0 
			
			  1997-98   
			 Q1 23,557 7.2 
			 Q2 22,385 6.7 
			 Q3 23,771 7.1 
			 Q4 24,435 7.1 
			
			  1998-99   
			 Q1 29,213 8.5 
			 Q2 28,839 8.1 
			 Q3 29,110 8.1 
			 Q4 29,933 8.2 
			
			  1999-2000   
			 Q1 26,702 7.7 
			 Q2 26,758 7.3 
			 Q3 26,523 7.2 
			 Q4 28,611 7.6 
			
			  2000-01   
			 Q1 28,735 7.4 
			 Q2 28,820 7.1 
			 Q3 29,896 7.3 
			 Q4 31,538 7.7 
			
			  2001-02   
			 Q1 29,878 7.3 
			 Q2 30,083 7.1 
			 Q3 31,427 7.3 
			 Q4 31,493 7.2 
			 (1 )As a proportion of total number of patients discharged.  Source: Department of Health, SaFFR, LDPR

Emergency Readmissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency re-admissions there were in each quarter in 2005; and how many were of people aged  (a) 0 to 10,  (b) 11 to 18,  (c) 19 to 65,  (d) 66 to 75 and  (e) over 75.

Rosie Winterton: The information for 2005 is not yet available owing to primary care trust reconfiguration. It will be available once reconfiguration is complete.
	In future information on emergency re-admissions will not be available in the format requested. The data will be available on the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD) website at www.nchod.nhs.uk. The age ranges collected are 0 to 15, 16 to 74 and over 75. NCHOD would normally produce annually, not quarterly, data.

Emissions Trading Scheme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many carbon dioxide emissions permits have been allocated to hospitals; and what the emissions were for each NHS hospital included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in the first year of operation.

Andy Burnham: One hundred and seven hospitals from the United Kingdom were operating in the European Union emissions trading scheme in 2005. A total of 879,241 allowances were issued in 2005 to those hospitals. The total of verified carbon dioxide emissions for those hospitals is 939,256 tonnes.

Epilepsy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England are being treated for epilepsy.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of children being treated for epilepsy is not collected.

Eye Disease

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of  (a) cataracts,  (b) cancer of the conjunctiva,  (c) pterygium and  (d) solar keratopathy resulting from exposure to sunlight; and what the estimated cost to the NHS was for the treatment of these conditions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: The following table provides information on the finished consultant episodes (FCEs) for the four conditions identified in the question. It is not possible to separately identify the cost of the individual diagnoses relating to exposure to sunlight.
	
		
			  FCEs for 2004-05 for cataracts, cancer of the conjunctiva, pterygium and solar keratopathy 
			  Primary diagnosis  Total episodes 
			 Cataracts 314,077 
			 Cancer of the conjunctiva 279 
			 Pterygium 1,889 
			 Solar keratopathy 1,012 
			  Notes:  1. FCEs An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  3. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfall in data (that is the data was ungrossed).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for health and social care.

Eye Tests

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many eye tests were claimed for in  (a) England and  (b) each region in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of those who had eye tests subsequently received (i) spectacles for the first time and (ii) replacement or repairs of spectacles.

Rosie Winterton: The tables showing the numbers of national health services sight tests, optical vouchers and repairs and replacements claimed for in each of the last 10 years for England and broken down by former strategic health authority area have been placed in the Library.
	The number of those who receive spectacles for the first time is not collected centrally.
	Vouchers are given to those in eligible groups to contribute towards the cost of spectacles or contact lenses. Eligible groups for repairs and replacements are children aged 16 and under, those in full-time education under 19 and other low-income groups.

Eye Tests

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for low vision assessments in  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) social services departments in (i) England and (ii) Shropshire in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.

Fabricated Illness (Children)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the purpose is of her review of the Safeguarding Children in Whom Illness is Fabricated or Induced, guidance; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The guidance, Safeguarding Children in Whom Illness is Fabricated or Induced was published in August 2002, as supplementary guidance to Working Together to Safeguard Children (Department of Health,1999). The latter was revised in April 2006, to take account of the Children Act 2004.
	The purpose of the Department's project is to review progress of how the guidance on safeguarding children in whom illness is fabricated or induced is being implemented within the national health service. The focus of the project is on health professionals in the context of health systems. There will also be some limited input from statutory agencies such as local authority children services which work closely with health teams on safeguarding children. The project is expected to be completed in 2007. Programme funding to continue the project in 2006-07 is not yet guaranteed.

Foreign Nurses

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foreign nurses have worked in the NHS  (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) in 2006-07.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Foundation Hospitals

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foundation trust hospitals have given undertakings in respect of Agenda for Change in their five year business plans; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that current and future foundation trusts implement and work within the framework of Agenda for Change.

Rosie Winterton: National health service foundation trusts (NHSFTs) which became operational between 1 April and 1 July 2004 gave a commitment to implement Agenda for Change according to the same national timetable as the rest of the NHS. Applicants for foundation status thereafter were already covered by the national agenda for change agreement and therefore legally their staff on Whitley terms were entitled to the new contract and those on local contracts had to be offered the new terms and conditions. Business plans of NHSFTs are available from respective organisations.
	NHSFTs are not bound by any statutory obligation to adhere to Government pay agreements. They are free to deliver healthcare without direction from central Government or performance management by health authorities. However, as independently regulated organisations with a duty to deliver on national standards and demonstrate financial viability, NHSFTs are expected to be model employers and build on their track record of maintaining and developing high standards of employment practice.

Frank Campaign

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people who accessed the Frank campaign in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Frank was launched in May 2003. Between September 2003 and March 2006, according to the figures for which are available for those 30 months, Frank's contribution to drug prevention and increasing participation in treatment was as follows:
	61,887 people were provided with information about a suitable local substance misuse service;
	35,910 young people and 13,280 parents discussed drug issues with Frank directly. Frank also dealt with 61,713 emails; and
	there were seven million hits on the website and 344,663 hits on the drug treatment web pages. The number of hits to the 'Talk to Frank' website's treatment/prevention pages has almost tripled since 2004.
	In addition to this:
	over 2,000 stakeholders use and recommend Frank's services per year; and
	over 5,000 drug and young people professionals receive news and training information about Frank to support local delivery.

General Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which localities her Department has identified as being significantly under-provided in terms of GP numbers.

Rosie Winterton: Those primary care trusts (PCTs) which have fewer than the average number of general practitioners (GP) per 100,000 weighted population are relatively under-provided. The White Paper Our Health Our Care Our Say further identifies from among these PCTs the 30 which have fewest GPs for their populations. These PCTs, which are listed on page 63 of the White Paper, are being encouraged to make systematic use of their new contractual freedoms to increase their primary medical care capacity.

General Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there have been  (a) in total and  (b) per 10,000 population in each primary care trust in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

General Practitioners

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) general practitioner surgeries and ( b) single-handed general practitioner surgeries there were in each (i) region and (ii) health authority in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information requested up to September 2005 has been placed in the Library. The data relates to strategic health authority areas in existence prior to 1 July 2006, and by primary care trust area since 2001 when they came into being.

General Practitioners

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average annual number of patients were seen by general practitioners in Brent in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected centrally.

General Practitioners

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices in  (a) England and  (b) each region had at least 50 per cent. of their patients living three or more miles away in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: This information is not collected by the Department.

General Practitioners

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per head of population there were in  (a) South-East Cambridgeshire constituency and  (b) England in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of general practitioners per head of population in the South-East Cambridgeshire constituency and in England in each of the last five years is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Numbers (headcount) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  England  
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) 28,802 29,202 30,358 31,523 32,738 
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1 )per 100,000 head of population 58.2 58.8 60.9 62.9 65.1 
			   
			  of which  
			 Cambridge city PCT  
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) 85 86 92 99 101 
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1)per 100,000 head of population 77.3 76.8 80.1 83.6 85.3 
			   
			 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT  
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) 82 78 81 85 93 
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) per 100,000 head of population 59.1 55.5 55.8 58.5 64.0 
			   
			 South Cambridgeshire PCT  
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) 60 63 75 66 73 
			 All Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(1 )per 100,000 head of population 45.8 47.8 55.9 48.7 53.9 
			 (1) General Medical Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes Contracted GPs , GMS Others and PMS Others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs.   Notes: 1. PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP retainers  2. Mid-year ONS 2005 population figures for PCTs are not yet available, therefore 2004 PCT figures have been used for 2005 organisation calculations, as a result these figures are subject to change.   Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics. 2001 Office for national statistics population census.

Haematopathologists

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by her Department to ensure that there are sufficient haematopathologists to fulfil the criteria of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence improving outcomes guidance for haematological cancers.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 July 2006
	It is for cancer networks to work in partnership with strategic health authorities and postgraduate deaneries to put in place a sustainable process to assess, plan and review their work force needs and the education and training of all staff linked to local and national priorities for cancer, including the implementation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's improving outcomes guidance.

Haemophiliacs

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what service level agreement applies to the provision of recombinant factor VII to haemophiliacs.

Caroline Flint: Funding for the central budget programme was distributed as a single allocation to strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 25 July 2006. It will be for SHAs, in consultation with local stakeholders, to agree and manage how best to deploy the funding allocated to them. The Department is working with SHA chief executives to finalise the service level agreement that will set out the expected outcomes from this funding.

Health Care Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to encourage  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) strategic health authorities to implement payment by results; what guidance will be given to those authorities and trusts which maintain block contracts; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effects of  (a) maintaining block contracts and  (b) implementing payment by results;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the effects of payment by results in secondary care; what consultation has taken place with health professionals on moving away from block contracts; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what steps she plans to take to assist  (a) primary care trusts,  (b) NHS trusts and  (c) foundation trusts to implement payments by results; and what support and guidance will be given to trusts which maintain block contracts.

Andy Burnham: Payment by results is a national policy, and there is a mandatory tariff which applies across the whole of the NHS. The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2006/7, published in January 2006, set out the ability for strategic health authorities to agree specific local additional rules for a fixed period of time under special circumstances. Discussions on where these might be appropriate continue with the national health service.
	We have a range of formal and informal evaluation tools to assist the analysis of payment by results. For example, we announced on 18 July 2006 the findings of the South Yorkshire laboratory, which tracked the progress of a health economy in which payment by results has been implemented to a faster timescale than elsewhere.
	We provide a range of guidance and work with all NHS organisations and Monitor (the regulator of NHS foundation trusts) to progress the implementation of payment by results. Detailed guidance on payment by results and full copies of evaluation material are available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/pbr.
	In the past, services were largely paid for through block (fixed-cost) contracts between purchasers and providers of care. This gave few incentives to purchasers and providers to understand and respond to the needs and preferences of patients. Securing more responsive services can be achieved by strong and effective commissioning with clear functions, new skills and a focus on meeting the specific needs of the local community and groups within it.
	On 13 July 2006 Health Reform in England: update and commissioning framework was published. In this document is a consultation to inform the further development of a national model contract which will be used to procure services from NHS trusts, foundation trusts, and independent and third sector providers.

Health Care Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the impact of maintaining block contracts on  (a) practice-based commissioning and  (b) patient choice; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Practice-based commissioning and patient choice are integral parts of the reform process that will ensure that patients and communities have their specific needs and preferences reflected in the commissioning and provision of health and social care.
	Historically, block contracts gave few incentives to commissioners and providers of care to respond to the needs and preferences of patients. On 13 July 2006 Health Reform in England: update and commissioning framework was published. In this document is a consultation to inform the further development of a national model contract which will be used to procure services from national health service trusts, foundation trusts, and independent and third sector providers.

Health Care Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) the new payment by results programme board will give guidance to health authorities which maintain block contracts after 2008-09 and  (b) there will be scrutiny of health authorities to ensure that block contracts are not imposed on NHS trusts and foundation trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The payment by results programme board will help ensure that appropriate governance procedures are in place for the implementation of payment by results.
	The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2006-07, published in January 2006, sets out the ability for strategic health authorities (SHAs) to agree specific local additional rules for a fixed period under special circumstances. Discussions on where these might apply are continuing with the national health service.
	Primary care trusts will be responsible for commissioning services for their communities and will be accountable to SHAs for the commissioning decisions that they make.
	A range of providers including NHS trusts and foundation trusts will provide health and social care services. Commissioning will be a partnership between primary care trusts (PCTs), general practice and local government. General practice is closest to individual patients and best placed to advise them on their choices. Through practice-based commissioning, practices will have more freedom to determine the services that are made available to the local population. PCTs will bring a wider view of the overall needs of people living in their communities, and can identify inequalities.

Health Care Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether block contracts will be allowed for ordinary elective procedures in 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: On 13 July 2006 Health Reform in England: update and commissioning framework was published. In this document is a consultation to inform the further development of a national model contract which will be used to procure services from national health service, foundation trusts, and independent and third sector providers.
	The aim is to publish a model contract in autumn 2006 for use in the 2007-08 contracting round. The eventual model contract will support the tenets of the health reform programme including practice-based commissioning, payment by results and good financial health.

Health Care Contracts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of savings achieved through competitive purchasing in the NHS in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: The prices that the national health service pays reflect the market dynamics for individual products. It results from direct competition between suppliers, where such competition exists.
	The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) competitively tenders and awards framework agreements on behalf of the NHS in England where central frameworks are appropriate.
	Savings achieved through NHS PASA's competitive purchasing in each of the last three years is as follows:
	2005-06, savings of 325 million on contract value of 3.2 billion;
	2004-05, savings of 339 million on contract value of 3.6 billion; and
	2003-04, savings of 409.9 million on contract value of 4.25 billion.
	It must be recognised that NHS PASA can only report on the value and savings of contracts in its name; there is no central record for contracts awarded by NHS trusts themselves.

Health Professions Council

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of the cases brought against chiropodists by the Health Professions Council resulted in guilty verdicts in each year since it was established;
	(2)  how many cases brought against chiropodists by the Health Professions Council have resulted in compensation being paid to the chiropodist because of a spurious complaint.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held centrally. The Health Professions Council is an autonomous statutory body and maintains its own record of fitness to practise cases.

Health Service Changes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average consultation period is for the changes which primary care trusts and hospital trusts are implementing during the 2006-07 financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information is not held centrally.
	Overview and Scrutiny of HealthGuidance, published in July 2003, advised that it is good practice for consultation to follow Cabinet Office guidelines which state that full consultation should last for a minimum of 12 weeks.

Health Service Deficits

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to reduce deficits in the health service; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The aim is for the national health service as a whole to achieve financial balance by the end of 2006-07 and for all overspending organisations to have reached monthly balance of income and expenditure within the same period. The new strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been given the responsibility to develop and implement a service and financial strategy for managing the overall financial position within their health economy. SHA strategies will include the creation of local reserves.
	A more rigorous financial and performance regime has also been introduced which is intended to identify and expose the underlying financial problems in NHS organisations which may not previously have been apparent. Through this greater degree of transparency and performance management, NHS organisations will be able to work effectively towards returning to financial balance.
	For the organisations with the biggest problems we have sent in financial and management specialists to help address problems and restore financial balance.

Health Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) GP practices,  (b) dental practices,  (c) ophthalmic practices and  (d) pharmacies there were in (i) England and (ii) each region in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library. However, data on the number of ophthalmic practices is only available for England and cannot be broken down regionally.

Health Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) GPs,  (b) dentists,  (c) optometrists and  (d) pharmacies (i) there were and (ii) there were per 100,000 resident population in (A) England and (B) each region in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Health Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) GPs,  (b) dentists,  (c) optometrists and  (d) pharmacies in (i) England and (ii) each region were (A) male and (B) female (1) under 40, (2) between 40 and 55 and (3) over 55 years old in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: This information has been placed in the Library.
	The Information Centre for health and social care holds no workforce data on pharmacists. There are also no age data for the ophthalmic work force, while gender data at organisation level are only available for the latest year. Dental data for age and gender are not readily available at organisation level so are presented to national level. They are also included for the years in which they are available.

Health Services

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had on health deprivation in Stoke-on-Trent; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Although there have been no recent departmental discussions on health deprivation in Stoke-on-Trent, the area had a visit by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 4 April when she visited the University Hospital of North Staffordshire National Health Service Trust. The Secretary of State also met hon. Members from North Staffordshire on 3 May.
	Stoke-on-Trent is in the spearhead group, the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators. The group is a focus for action to help achieve the life expectancy element of the 2010 national health inequalities target to narrow the gap in life expectancy between the spearhead areas and the England average.
	Revenue allocations are made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs). This is done on the basis of a fair funding formula which directs funding to those areas of greatest need. It includes the additional needs for health care related to deprivation. It is for individual PCTs to assess the health needs of their communities and to commission appropriate services to meet those needs.

Healthcare Commission

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds hospital trusts can refuse to submit performance data to the Healthcare Commission.

Andy Burnham: Under section 68 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003, the Healthcare Commission has the power to require information from national health service bodies at any time when that information relates to the provision of health care by or for that body, and when the commission considers it necessary to have the information for the purposes of its functions in relation to NHS health care. It is an offence not to comply with such a requirement without reasonable excuse.
	A hospital trust might have grounds for refusing a request if it could show that the information was not needed for any of the purposes outlined.

Heart Conditions

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to improve the life chances of those with heart conditions in  (a) Kent and  (b) Gravesham since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Reducing deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) is a top priority for this Government. The national service framework (NSF) for CHD, published in March 2000, sets the agenda for the modernisation of CHD services over a 10-year period. The NSF was drawn up by clinicians, patients, managers and Government and sets 12 standards for improved prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation and goals to secure fair access to high quality services. The NSF is already making a real difference for patients.
	The national health service on the south-east coast has advised that following the publication of the NSF for CHD, a significant amount of work was undertaken to improve access to services for patients with CHD, and to ensure that future services meet the needs of the Kent population.
	In March 2004, the Kent cardiac network ratified a strategy to develop a network of cardiac catheter labs and associated facilities across Kent and Medway. This resulted in the agreement to build catheter laboratories at Dartford, Margate, Maidstone, Medway and Tunbridge Wells to support the one already existing laboratory in Ashford.
	In addition to the development of new catheter labs, 14.5 million capital funding has enabled the local hospitals to redesign their cardiology departments to enable the catheter labs to become the focal point of local heart centres. Complex cardiac surgery will continue to go to the specialist surgical centres at St Thomas's and Kings College Hospital in London.
	Across the Gravesham area, the NHS on the south-east coast has advised of the following improvements to cardiac services since the publication of the NSF for CHD:
	 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
	A new heart centre at Darent Valley hospital is under construction. This new building will bring together cardiac services and will be a centre of excellence. Coronary angiography commenced at Darent Valley in November 2005 as an interim service while the heart centre build is completed. The cardiac team anticipate moving into the building during November 2006. The opening of the heart centre will allow the service to be extended by doing more angiograms and also offering angioplasty locally by spring 2007.
	At the trust's rapid access chest pain clinic patients are seen and start their treatment within two weeks of referral from their general practitioner.
	The introduction of specialist nurses at the Darent Valley Hospital to help reduce the door-to-needle time. Patients having some type of heart attack now receive clot-busting drugs as soon as possible.
	 Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Primary Care Trust (PCT)
	The PCT runs healthy lifestyle days in the local community where the general public can discuss health matters and receive advice from community nursing staff and dieticians, and physiotherapists.
	The development of a breathlessness clinic provides community diagnostic services for patients, many of whom may have heart failure.

Heat-related Conditions

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received hospital treatment for  (a) sunburn,  (b) heat stroke and  (c) dehydration in (i) each London strategic health authority and (ii) each London primary care trust in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held in the format requested. However, the table showing the latest data available for episodes relating to effects of heat and light, sunburn and volume depletion (dehydration), by London strategic health authority and primary care trust for the years 1997-98 to 2004-05, has been placed in the Library.

HIV/AIDS

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many HIV tests in each genito-urinary medicine clinic in each London strategic health authority were  (a) offered and  (b) taken in 2005.

Caroline Flint: The number of HIV tests offered and taken in the genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics within the London strategic health authorities (SHA) is shown in the table. The dataset used to compile this data was taken from the KC60 return, which is made by all GUM clinics to the health protection agency. Only tests offered and taken in GUM clinics are recorded in the KC60 return. Testing undertaken in other clinical settings, such as general practice, is not recorded in the dataset.
	The data do not represent the number of HIV tests offered and taken up by the population resident in each SHA, as many patients cross health boundaries to access GUM clinics. In addition, the gender and sexual orientation mix varies between clinics. Some clinics are attended by a high number of homosexual and bisexual men and consequently this influences the number of HIV tests offered and taken.
	
		
			  Numbers of HIV tests offered ( 1)  and taken ( 2)  in genitourinary medicine clinics ( 3)  by SHA, London: 2005 ( 4) 
			  SHA  Clinic name  Offered/tested  2005 
			 North Central London Archway Sexual Health Clinic Offered 6,450 
			   Tested 5,217 
			  Barnet General Hospital, Clare Simpson House Offered 3,379 
			   Tested 2,633 
			  Moorfields Eye Hospital Offered 120 
			   Tested 98 
			  Mortimer Market Centre Offered 16,461 
			   Tested 14,789 
			  St. Ann's Hospital Offered 6,778 
			   Tested 4,285 
			  The Royal Free Hospital Offered 5,787 
			   Tested 4,870 
			  Town Clinic Offered 2,740 
			   Tested 1,805 
			 North East London Barking Hospital Offered 1,446 
			   Tested 1,439 
			  Homerton Hospital Offered 9,086 
			   Tested 7,713 
			  John Scott Health Centre Offered 68 
			   Tested 67 
			  Newham General Hospital Offered 6,255 
			   Tested 3,598 
			  Oldchurch Hospital Offered 604 
			   Tested 586 
			  St. Bartholomew's Hospital Offered 7,752 
			   Tested 5,283 
			  The Royal London Hospital Offered 15,636 
			   Tested 10,418 
			  Whipps Cross University Hospital Offered 1,258 
			   Tested 1,063 
			 North West London Central Middlesex Hospital, Patrick Clements Clinic Offered 7,158 
			   Tested 5,042 
			  Charing Cross Hospital Offered 8,650 
			   Tested 6,275 
			  Ealing Hospital, Pasteur Suite Offered 4,814 
			   Tested 3,996 
			  Northwick Park Hospital Offered 4,783 
			   Tested 3,586 
			  St. Mary's Hospital, Jefferiss Wing Offered 22,218 
			   Tested 15,544 
			  John Hunter Clinic Offered 9,805 
			   Tested 7,719 
			  The Victoria Clinic for HIV and Sexual Health Offered 8,464 
			   Tested 7,082 
			  Tudor Wing, Hillingdon Hospital Offered 2,468 
			   Tested 2,037 
			  West Middlesex University Hospital Offered 6,776 
			   Tested 4,924 
			 South East London Beckenham Hospital Offered 3,091 
			   Tested 1,983 
			  Guy's Hospital Offered 5,671 
			   Tested 4,499 
			  King's College Hospital (5) Offered 19,917 
			   Tested 9,883 
			  St. Thomas's Hospital Offered 13,138 
			   Tested 9,907 
			  Trafalgar Clinic Offered 5,805 
			   Tested 4,268 
			 South West London Kingston Hospital Offered 6,196 
			   Tested 4,850 
			  Mayday University Hospital Offered 9,849 
			   Tested 6,456 
			  Queen Mary's University Hospital Offered 5,172 
			   Tested 3,091 
			  St. George's Hospital Offered 17,210 
			   Tested 11,809 
			  St. Helier Hospital Offered 4,520 
			   Tested 2,367 
			 (1) Offered defined as KC60 codes S2 (HIV antibody test and sexual health screen) + P1A (HIV antibody test no sexual health screen) + P1B (HIV antibody test offered and refused). (2) Test taken defined as S2 + P1A. (3) The following genitourinary medicine clinics appear under different names to those used in 2004: - Barnet General Hospital, Clare Simpson House was previously Clare Simpson House; - Barking Hospital was previously Sydenham Centre; - Whipps Cross University Hospital was previously Forest Healthcare; - The Victoria Clinic for HIV and Sexual Health was previously South Westminster Centre; - Guy's Hospital was previously Lloyd Clinic; and - St. George's Hospital was previous the Courtyard Clinic. (4) Data for 2005 is provisional. (5) King's College hospital does not collect information for code 52.  Source:  Health Protection Agency

HIV/AIDS

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people tested HIV positive in each London borough in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many people have been diagnosed as having AIDS in each London borough since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is available by strategic health authority (SHA) and is shown in following tables one and two.
	
		
			  Table 1: Individuals diagnosed with HIV in London: by year of diagnosis and London SHA( 1) . Data to the end of June 2006. 
			  SHA  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 2)  Total 
			 North West London 675 613 566 656 794 864 888 921 885 193 7,055 
			 North Central London 492 478 507 537 618 674 745 660 694 222 5,627 
			 North East London 181 190 255 389 449 380 530 537 545 120 3,576 
			 South East London 287 367 490 515 662 772 765 740 716 122 5,436 
			 South West London 102 121 155 230 252 290 347 348 291 104 2,240 
			 Total(3) 1,739 1,771 1,976 2,329 2,778 2,990 3,278 3,207 3,132 761 23,961 
			 (1) April 2002 national health service geography. (2) Reports received to the end of June 2006. (3) Includes 27 individuals who were diagnosed with AIDS in London with SHA unknown.  Source: Health Protection Agency 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Individuals diagnosed with AIDS in London: by year of AIDS diagnosis and London SHA( 1) . Data to the end of June 2006. 
			  SHA  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 2)  Total 
			 North West London 231 161 125 109 88 85 79 53 46 12 989 
			 North Central London 162 113 75 107 65 46 51 56 33 8 716 
			 North East London 61 41 78 65 43 63 57 67 46 5 526 
			 South East London 113 101 84 106 98 119 111 64 72 6 874 
			 South West London 66 49 40 58 58 56 57 49 39 19 491 
			 Total(3) 634 466 403 446 352 369 356 289 236 50 3,601 
			 (1) April 2002 NHS geography. (2) Reports received to the end of June 2006. (3) Includes five individuals who were diagnosed with AIDS in London with SHA unknown.  Source: Health Protection Agency

Hospital Admissions

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) South-East Cambridgeshire,  (b) Cambridgeshire and  (c) England were admitted to hospital in each of the last five years as a result of the effects of  (a) hot and  (b) cold weather.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not available centrally.

Hospital Art

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on hospital art in each of the last five years  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by region.

Andy Burnham: Since 2002-03, information has been provided annually by national health service trusts on the total amount invested in art and art projects. This information is provided in the following table and shows the total spend on labour, materials and resources for arts and arts projects by strategic health authority (SHA) area as configured at 31 March 2006.
	Data for 2003-04 and before were provided as part of a mandatory data set. From 2004-05, data have been provided by trusts on a voluntary basis as part of the initiative to reduce bureaucracy in the NHS.
	Approximately 50 per cent. of the expenditure in each year was funded by sources external to the NHS, including charities.
	The data provided have not been amended centrally and their accuracy of their is the responsibility of the provider organisation.
	
		
			   
			  Strategic health authority  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 424,863 468,829 126,804 233,153 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2,500 2,500 5,600 4,235 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country 181,248 230,922 317,633 103,970 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 30,195 36,539 364,534 43,650 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 449,556 369,914 35,000 125,900 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 70,905 105,887 18,018 103,500 
			 Dorset and Somerset 219,690 229,747 52,675 22,912 
			 Essex 44,420 121,855 123,090 33,921 
			 Greater Manchester 369,608 266,693 843,983 652,235 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 373,497 264,369 154,620  
			 Kent and Medway 29,500 40,000 5,000 7,300 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 5,500 3,000  107,971 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 164,680 153,688 177,833 117,270 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 31,197 50,726 34,566 143,082 
			 North Central London 302,230 97,000 20,000 56,825 
			 North East London 245,381 335,077 358,145 211,339 
			 North West London 483,309 481,615 255,271 116,826 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 270,181 248,000 196,080 374,582 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 50,036 51,569 11,000 204,280 
			 South East London 625,355 434,314 197,240 91,737 
			 South West London 217,900 136,400 85,638 146,780 
			 South West Peninsular 226,806 84,264 37,335 69,487 
			 South Yorkshire 53,460 59,264 20,899 82,560 
			 Surrey and Sussex 330,702 160,289 309,131 47,222 
			 Thames Valley 83,588 62,594 146,171 185,677 
			 Trent 25,607 58,400 44,539 217,695 
			 West Midlands South 30,800 20,700 65,000 251,200 
			 West Yorkshire 243,660 142,568 122,453 355,874 
			 Total for England 5,586,374 4,716,723 4,128,258 4,111,183

Hospital Building

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 328W, on hospital building, if she will republish the data with the threshold value defined as  (a) 25 million and  (b) 50 million at 2006-07 prices.

Andy Burnham: A copy of the full list of operational hospital building projects given the go-ahead since January 1980 with values over 29.7 million has been placed in the Library. In line with the recent uplift of the 50 million threshold to a 2006-07 price basis of 58.6 million, the value of a 25 million scheme in 1999-2000 is today worth 29.7 million.

Hospital Expenditure

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) availability component of the unitary charge and  (b) capital charges were as a proportion of total hospital expenditure in each hospital in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 384W, with regard to the availability component of the unitary charge. The table placed in the Library gives details of unitary payments for each private finance initiative scheme which has become operational over the last five years (the table shows what the percentage of these payments are against the trusts' annual turnover as opposed to expenditure). Unitary payments include the costs for hard and soft facilities management services as well as for construction and financing. It is not possible to separately identify costs attributable only to the non-services element of the contract, as the availability component includes costs attributable to providing hard facilities management services.
	Information on capital charges as a proportion of national health service trusts' annual expenditure in each of the last three years has been placed in the Library.

Hospital Food

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the average amount spent on hospital food per patient per day in 2005-06; and whether a central assessment has been made of variation in spending in each region;
	(2)  what proportion of total patient main meals in hospitals were represented by untouched meals in 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: For 2005-06, data provided by the national health service shows that the average amount spent per patient meal was 2.65.
	No central assessment is made of spending on main meals in different regions. However, performance indicators on this and related areas are available to all trusts through the estates return information collection system to support local monitoring and decision-making.
	Data on untouched meals form part of a wider question on untouched/unserved meals. This includes food delivered to the ward and not served, for example because a patient has gone home, as well as that served but not eaten. For 2005-06, the percentage of untouched/unserved meals was 10.14 per cent.
	The data provided has not been amended centrally, and the accuracy of this data is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Hospital-acquired Infections

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of research on the possible link between the level of patient harm and negative health-care outcomes and the number of beds in wards.

Andy Burnham: The research that the Department has commissioned on in-patient accommodation is not yet complete and therefore no final assessment has been made.

Hospitals (Cornwall)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that the next edition of 'Choosing Your Hospital' for the West and Central Cornwall primary care trusts includes full descriptions of each of the three hospitals within the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust including their records for cases of  (a) MRSA and  (b) inpatient waits.

Ivan Lewis: It is expected that the next edition of the 'Choosing Your Hospital' booklet will include descriptions of each hospital within a hospital trust as well as performance indicators. The performance indicators in the booklet are likely to include information on meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia reports and waiting times. Performance indicators will be based on Healthcare Commission information.

Immunisation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that all those due for immunisation receive that immunisation in the next two months.

Caroline Flint: Children are currently offered vaccinations according to the following schedule:
	
		
			  When to immunise  What is given  How it is given 
			 Two, three and four months old Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Hib (DTaP/IPV/Hib) One injection 
			  MenC One injection 
			
			 Around 13 months old Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) One injection 
			
			 Three years and four months to five years old Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio (dTaP/IPV or DTaP/IPV) One injection 
			  Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) One injection 
			
			 13 to 18 years old Diphtheria, tetanus, polio (Td/IPV) One injection 
		
	
	Pneumococcal vaccine will be added to the routine schedule from 4 September 2006.

Independent Service Providers

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of NHS operations were carried out by the independent sector in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of NHS operations are expected to be carried out by the independent sector in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2009.

Andy Burnham: Information is not collected centrally on the percentage of national health service operations carried out in the independent sector. Information on elective admissions is collected. The percentage of NHS elective admissions carried out by the independent sector was 1 per cent in 2003-04, 1.5 per cent in 2004-05 and 1.8 per cent in 2005-06.
	NHS local delivery plans suggest this percentage could rise to 4 per cent in 2006-07. Information is not available for 2009.

Infant Mortality

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards infant mortality targets; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The infant mortality health inequalities public service agreement target is by 2010 to reduce by 10 per cent. the gap between routine and manual groups, as defined by Office for National Statistics, and the rest of the population. Currently, the gap is 19 per cent. The latest data show no change in the gap between these groups and the rest of the population, 2002-04, compared with the data for the previous year, 2001-03, which were set out in 'Tackling Health InequalitiesA Status Report on the Programme for Action', published last August.
	We are undertaking a review of this target to help sharpen local delivery of services to these groups with a strong focus on key interventions to prevent avoidable infant mortality. This will help contribute to meeting the target by narrowing the gap between these groups and the rest of the population, and build a long-term sustainable reduction in health inequalities. The results of the review will be published in due course.

Influenza Vaccinations

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the take-up rate for influenza vaccinations was in each  (a) strategic health authority and  (b) primary care trust in London in 2005-06; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The take-up rate for influenza vaccine in 2005-06 by strategic health authority and primary care trust is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Strategic health authority (SHA)  Primary care trust (PCT)  Percentage uptake 2005-06 those aged 65 and over  Percentage uptake 2005-06 in those aged 6 month to under 65 
			 North East London SHA Havering PCT 76 49 
			  Waltham Forest PCT 76 56 
			  Redbridge PCT 74 55 
			  City and Hackney Teaching PCT 73 64 
			  Barking and Dagenham PCT 72 67 
			  Newham PCT 71 46 
			  Tower Hamlets PCT 71 47 
			  Mean SHA 74 54 
			 
			 North Central London SHA Barnet PCT 72 49 
			  Enfield PCT 70 51 
			  Haringey Teaching PCT 70 50 
			  Islington PCT 69 42 
			  Camden PCT 68 50 
			  Mean SHA 70 46 
			 
			 South East London SHA Bexley Care Trust 73 51 
			  Bromley PCT 73 42 
			  Greenwich Teaching PCT 69 44 
			  Lambeth PCT 65 56 
			  Lewisham PCT 65 45 
			  Southwark PCT 62 48 
			  Mean SHA 69 45 
			 
			 South West London SHA Kingston PCT 75 54 
			  Richmond and Twickenham PCT 75 55 
			  Sutton and Merton PCT 73 46 
			  Wandsworth PCT 71 45 
			  Croydon PCT 70 48 
			  Mean SHA 72 48 
			 
			 North West London SHA Brent Teaching PCT 75 44 
			  Harrow PCT 75 54 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 74 45 
			  Hillingdon PCT 74 49 
			  Westminster PCT 73 42 
			  Westminster PCT 73 42 
			  Kensington and Chelsea PCT 73 46 
			  Hounslow PCT 72 (1) 
			  Ealing PCT 71 55 
			  Mean SHA 73 48 
			 (1) No data submitted

Influenza Vaccinations

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Brent  (a) were entitled to and  (b) received the vaccine for influenza in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected in the format requested.
	Influenza vaccine uptake data for those aged 65 and over has been collected since 2000. For 2000-01 and 2001-02 the data was collected by health authority. The uptake for Brent and Harrow Health Authority (HA) in 2000-01 was 61 per cent. and in 2001-02 was 67 per cent.
	Influenza uptake by primary care trust (PCT) was collected from 2002 to 2006 and is available on the web at: www.immunisation.nhs.uk/article.php?id=448. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	General practitioners are responsible for ordering sufficient flu vaccine to immunise those who fall into at risk groups registered with them.
	Influenza vaccine uptake for those aged 65 and over in Brent is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   HA/PCT  Rate of uptake(percentage) 
			 2000-01 Brent and Harrow (1)61 
			 2001-02 Brent and Harrow (1)67 
			 2002-03 Brent Teaching 61 
			 2003-04 Brent Teaching 69 
			 2004-05 Brent Teaching 71 
			 2005-06 Brent Teaching 75 
			 (1) Data reported by HA. Data collected by PCT from 2002-03.

Influenza Vaccinations

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2060W, on influenza vaccine, how often in the last 10 years the Novartis Vaccines plant has been out of production; and what the reasons were in each case.

Caroline Flint: The Novartis Vaccines plant did not produce influenza vaccine in 2004, following an inspection by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Information Sharing

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing a pilot to test an integrated approach to information handling between a primary care trust and a local authority.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1557-58W.

Information Technology Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) start date,  (b) original planned completion date,  (c) current expected completion date,  (d) planned cost and  (e) current estimated cost is for each information technology project being undertaken by her Department and its agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The information technology projects currently being undertaken by the Department and its agencies are shown in the table:
	
		
			  Name of project  Start date of project  Original planned completion date of project  Current expected completion date of project  Planned cost of project (000 )  Current estimated cost of project (000) 
			 UNIFY2 July 2006 March 2007 March 2007 1,400 1,400 
			 Stakeholder relationship management system June 2005 June 2006 July 2006 555 470 
			 EPM December 2005 August 2006 August 2006 213 240 
			 Notes 7 upgrade October 2005 December 2006 April 2007 1,500 2,200 
			 Windows XP SP2 upgrade January 2006 October 2006 December 2006 900 900 
			 External services environment April 2006 September 2006 September 2006 215 215 
			 Network and cabling upgrade to Quarry House January 2006 April 2007 July 2007 3,000 3,150 
			 Web 2006 November 2005 June 2006 Oct 2006 176 176 
			 Enterprise project and collaboration November 2005 October 2006 September 2006 150 135 
			 Benefits tracking January 2006 May 2006 June 2006 375 375 
			 The Club project June 2005 July 2006 October 2006 5,710 5,710 
			 National Programme for IT(1)  
			 (1) There is no single national start or completion date for the national programme for information technology as a whole, or for its individual systems and services. The aim is to achieve substantial integration of health and social care information systems in England under the national programme by 2010. Clearly systems will need to be upgraded in the light of new technology and new national health service requirements beyond that date. The approach, in line with best practice, is to implement new services incrementally, avoiding 'big bang' approach, and providing increasingly richer functionality over time. The value of the contracts let for the core components of the national programme amounts to 6.2 billion over 10 years, and this has not increased.

Intensive Care Beds

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many intensive care beds were available on average in 2005-06; and what the average occupancy rates were.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 3 November 2005,  Official Report, column 1340W. Data are not yet available for 2005-06.

Intensive Therapy Units

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when an assessment was last made of the sufficiency of capacity in intensive therapy units in England; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 17 July 2006
	It is for local health care providers, working with their commissioners, to determinein the light of their case mix and their anticipated level of emergency and elective activitythe level of critical care capacity needed locally.
	The NHS Plan published in 2000 included a commitment to increase the number of critical care beds in England by 30 per cent., between 2000 and 2003. This target has been achieved. On 6 June 2006, there were 3,278 adult critical care beds. This is the highest number of critical care beds recorded since this census started in 1999. Data are available on the Department's website at:
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data_requests/index.htm

International Humanitarian Health Work Toolkit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to strengthen the International Humanitarian and Health Work Toolkit to increase the amount of humanitarian work that NHS staff undertake abroad.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is working closely with the review Lord Crisp is carrying out on behalf of the Prime Minister. This is looking at how the national health service can contribute to capacity building in developing countries. We will review the need to update and strengthen the toolkit in the light of his report.

Isolated Acute Medical Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress she has made in implementing the recommendations of the 2002 Royal College of Physicians working party on isolated acute medical services.

Rosie Winterton: Local national health service organisations are responsible for ensuring that they provide health care to meet the needs of their patients taking into account and building on evidence of good practice. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) recommendations on isolated acute medical services is one such piece of good practice guidance. Progress in implementing recommendations made by the RCP is not monitored by the Department.

Learning and Development

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been allocated for the new contractual commitment to providing learning and development opportunities for all NHS staff.

Rosie Winterton: Specific funding, amounting to 180 million over three years for national vocational qualifications and learning accounts, as part of the skills for life initiative ended in 2005-06.
	From 2006-07, the continuing responsibility for these initiatives remains with the strategic health authorities who will decide their priorities and the use of the totality of their funding to deal with all of their financial commitments, including learning and development of national health service staff.

Liquor Manufacturers

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy to require liquor manufacturers in England to supply consumers with full information about the ingredients used to produce their beverages; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will make an assessment of public support for an end to the exemption from food labelling laws for liquor manufacturers.

Caroline Flint: Food labelling legislation is largely harmonised at European Union level. The European Commission is currently conducting a review of this legislation, which includes the possible extension of ingredient listing to alcoholic drinks. As part of this review, the United Kingdom (UK) has already indicated to the European Commission that it supports the principle of ingredient listing for all alcoholic drinks, while recognising that any proposal for detailed application will need to be fully considered in public consultation with stakeholders.
	The UK Government's position on ingredient listing for alcoholic drinks was informed by extensive public consultations, which took place in 2004 and 2006. Any proposals from the European Commission for an extension of ingredient listing to alcoholic drinks will be subject to further public consultation and a full impact assessment.

Lymphoma

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on lymphoma nurse specialists in each year since 2001.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly. The Government have supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing, and trusts must deploy them in the light of their local circumstances.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the merits of specialist services to treat myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect of budgetary pressures within the NHS on specialist services for myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers.

Ivan Lewis: A report on specialist services for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is expected to be published later in the year.
	We have made no assessment of the effect of budgetary pressures within the National Health Service on specialist services for CFS/ME.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost in a year to the economy of myalgic encephalomyelitis; and how much was spent on health services for myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers in the last period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has not made an estimate of the cost to the economy of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, and does not monitor national health service expenditure by specific illnesses.

Medical Records

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what medical records that are not kept within their normal medical files a doctor is permitted to hold on patients.

Caroline Flint: There are no restrictions on what medical records are kept by doctors and other medical professionals provided they comply with the requirements of professional regulatory bodies, departmental guidance, and the law. Doctors are required by the General Medical Council to keep clear, accurate, legible and contemporaneous patient records which report the relevant clinical findings, the decisions made, the information given to patients, and any drugs or other treatment prescribed, and which serve to keep colleagues well informed when sharing the care of patients. Any information held by a doctor about a patient is subject to a range of statutory and common law obligations, including specifically the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, directions and guidance issued by the Department and, in many cases, organisation-specific policies and working practices determined by employing bodies.

Medical Services Directive

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations has she received from  (a) the Dental Laboratories Association and  (b) others with regards to the revision of the Medical Devices Directive.

Andy Burnham: The Dental Laboratories Association (DLA) along with other relevant trade associations are members of a steering committee set up by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to help prepare the United Kingdom negotiating position on the revision of the medical devices directive. The DLA has also made separate representations to the Department on a proposal that the statement of conformity to the directive prepared by a dental technician be passed by the dentist to the named patient.

Medical Staff (Brent)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) nurses and  (b) doctors were recruited from overseas in Brent in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows the latest data available for general and personal medical services, and hospital and community health services medical staff, including all doctors for Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust and the former Brent and Harrow Health Authority, by country of qualification, year and by organisation.
	
		
			  General and personal medical services and Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): All doctors( 1,2,3 ) by country of qualification and year showing specified organisations 
			  Number (headcount)( 4) 
			   All doctors ( 1,2,3) 
			   All countries of qualification  United Kingdom  Remainder of the EEA  Elsewhere 
			  1997 
			 North West London 4,321 3,075 283 963 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 12 11 0 1 
			  
			  1998 
			 North West London 4,094 2,855 280 959 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 7 6 0 1 
			  
			  1999 
			 North West London 4,176 2,956 274 946 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 4 4 0 0 
			  
			  2000 
			 North West London 4,601 3,235 316 1,050 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 7 6 1 0 
			  
			  2001 
			 North West London 4,642 3,242 324 1,076 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 6 6 0 0 
			  
			  2002 
			 North West London 4,809 3,319 344 1,146 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 219 115 8 96 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2003 
			 North West London 5,054 3,460 377 1,217 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 225 122 7 96 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2004 
			 North West London 5,396 3,597 428 1,371 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 227 121 6 100 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2005 
			 North West London 5,531 3,670 451 1,410 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 221 122 15 90 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Number (headcount)( 4) 
			   All HCHS medical staff( 1,2,3) 
			   All countries of qualification  United Kingdom  Remainder of the EEA  Elsewhere 
			  1997 
			 North West London 3,112 2,300 221 591 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 12 11 0 1 
			  
			  1998 
			 North West London 2,906 2,099 212 595 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 7 6 0 1 
			  
			  1999 
			 North West London 3,042 2,228 216 598 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 4 4 0 0 
			  
			  2000 
			 North West London 3,476 2,513 256 707 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 7 6 1 0 
			  
			  2001 
			 North West London 3,492 2,468 269 755 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 6 6 0 0 
			  
			  2002 
			 North West London 3,670 2,555 283 832 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 22 7 3 12 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2003 
			 North West London 3,878 2,660 313 905 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 20 9 2 9 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2004 
			 North West London 4,164 2,766 354 1,044 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 17 6 1 10 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2005 
			 North West London 4,288 2,833 369 1,086 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 5 1 10 0 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Number (headcount)( 4) 
			   All practitioners (GP retainers)( 1) 
			   All countries of qualification  United Kingdom  Remainder of the EEA  Elsewhere 
			  1997 
			 North West London 1,209 775 62 372 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  1998 
			 North West London 1,188 756 68 364 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  1999 
			 North West London 1,134 728 58 348 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2000 
			 North West London 1,125 722 60 343 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA 
			  
			  2001 
			 North West London 1,150 774 55 321 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2002 
			 North West London 1,139 764 61 314 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 197 108 5 84 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2003 
			 North West London 1,176 800 64 312 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 205 113 5 87 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2004 
			 North West London 1,232 831 74 327 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 210 115 5 90 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  2005 
			 North West London 1,243 837 82 324 
			  of which: 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 216 121 5 90 
			 Brent and Harrow HA n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = data not applicable  (1) General Medical Practitioners (excluding retainers) includes Contracted GPs, GMS Others, PMS Others and GP Registrars. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other, Flexible Career Scheme GPs and GP Returners.  (2) Excludes medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals.  (3) Excludes all dental staff. Information about country of qualification is derived from the General Medical Council. For staff in dental specialties, with a General Dental Council registration, the country of qualification is therefore unknown.  (4) GP data as at 1 October 1997-1999, 30 September 2000-2005. HCHS data as at 30 September each year   Sources:  The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Medical Technologies

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what measures have been put in place to monitor the extent of the adoption of medical technologies in the NHS;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure that budgetary pressures do not affect the use of the most effective medical technologies in the NHS.

Andy Burnham: There are no national measures in place specifically to monitor the adoption of non-drug medical technologies.
	Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is an important tool in ensuring that national health service organisations prioritise clinically and cost effective interventions.

Medical Transcription Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS organisations have outsourced medical transcription services to  (a) UK and  (b) overseas organisations; what estimate she has made of the reduction in the number of medical secretary posts as a result of outsourcing; and what arrangements are in place for the evaluation of the impact of outsourcing these services in terms of (i) value for money and (ii) impact on patient care.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
	Any decision to outsource medical transcription services and evaluate the impact of outsourcing these services is made by each national health service organisation in line with their business needs.

Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency requirement of notification of shortages of medicine applies to parallel import licence holders in the same way as it is applied to the original manufacturer.

Andy Burnham: Articles 23a and 81 of Directive 2001/83/EC (as amended) relate directly to the supply of medicines, and require holders of marketing authorisationswithin the limits of their responsibilitiesto maintain appropriate and continued supplies of their products, and to notify the competent authority if a product is not going to be available either temporarily or permanently. The legislation requires two months notice in all but exceptional circumstances. Information supplied to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is shared with medicines pharmacy and industry group in the Department.
	Parallel import traders, for the purpose of the directive, are not holders of marketing authorisations and are not required to notify the MHRA. However, contractual terms and conditions with national health service trusts are applied to all suppliers equitably, whether manufacturers, traders or parallel importers.

Mental Health

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the demand for expansion of the capacity of secure mental health units.

Rosie Winterton: The requirement for secure mental health services is kept under regular review in order to inform the planning of the future development of psychiatric services at all levels of security.
	A review of the forensic mental health system is being planned and scoping meetings have already taken place. This is underpinned by clear capacity planning for high and medium secure services that has already taken place and regional forensic commissioners in the national health service are validating the projections against their own regional strategies. New service models are emerging and regional commissioners have established a work programme that takes these models and the implications of the capacity requirements forward in a structured way.
	Progress is being monitored through the high security psychiatric services national oversight group.

Mental Health

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) average cost of a bed in a secure mental health ward and  (b) total cost of secure mental health facilities was in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information about the average costs of beds in secure mental health facilities for 2004-05, the latest year available, is contained in the publication 'NHS reference costs 2005' and in the following tables, which are also available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/32/28/04133228.xls and www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/32/29/04133229.xls
	The information is given in the form of national average unit costs per occupied bed day for various different types of secure provision. Figures are given for national health service trusts and primary care trusts combined, and for non-NHS providers. On the basis of these costs, we estimate total spending on secure mental health facilities in 2004-05 to be 664 million.
	
		
			  National schedule of reference costs: NHS trusts and primary care trusts combined, mental health services secure unit data 
			  Interquartile range of unit costs  
			  Service code  Mental heath services: secure unit data  Number of occupied bed days  National average unit cost ()  Lower quartile ()  Upper quartile ()  Number of data submissions 
			 ScU1 Local Psychiatric Intensive Care Units 92,702 476 413 577 21 
			 ScU2 Low Level Secure Services 334,038 357 304 389 43 
			 ScU3 Medium Level Secure Services 555,192 400 377 460 26 
			 ScU41 High Dependency Secure Provision : Women's Services 3,417 473 477 779 2 
			 ScU42 High Dependency Secure Provision: Mental Health/Psychosis 15,482 382 365 441 2 
			 ScU43 High Dependency Secure Provision: Learning Disabilities 4,425 436 436 436 1 
			 ScU51 Maximum Secure Unit: Women's Services 38,633 676 641 718 2 
			 ScU52 Maximum Secure Unit: Mental Health/Psychosis 222,660 502 443 550 3 
			 ScU53 Maximum Secure Unit: Learning Disabilities 22,463 533 533 533 1 
			 ScU54 Maximum Secure Unit: Personality Disorder 60,014 571 518 669 2 
		
	
	
		
			  National schedule of non-NHS providers: contracted and commissioned combined, mental health services secure unit data 
			  Interquartile range of unit costs  
			  Service code  Mental heath services: secure unit data  Number of occupied bed days  National average unit cost ()  Lower quartile ()  Upper quartile ()  Number of data submissions 
			 ScU1 Local Psychiatric Intensive Care Units 13,639 541 554 784 8 
			 ScU2 Low Level Secure Services 69,118 440 365 510 23 
			 ScU3 Medium Level Secure Services 89,690 490 441 549 30 
			 ScU41 High Dependency Secure Provision: Women's Services 1,079 522 374 548 2 
			 ScU42 High Dependency Secure Provision: Mental Health/Psychosis 1,179 419 374 499 6 
			 ScU43 High Dependency Secure Provision: Learning Disabilities 2,769 440 342 443 2 
			 ScU44 High Dependency Secure Provision: Personality Disorder 2,045 736 700 700 5

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources have been allocated under the well-being support programme in 2006-07,  (a) broken down by primary care trust and  (b) in total; what recent assessment she has made of the physical health of people with mental health problems; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department's 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) separately identify 211 million in 2006-07 and 342 million in 2007-08 to support the implementation of the Choosing Health White Paper.
	For the two years covered by this allocation, a total of 14 million has been identified nationally to invest in the well-being support programmes initiative to support the implementation of the Choosing Health White Paper commitments. However, only a total amount to cover the implementation of the White Paper has been identified within each PCT's 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations. No breakdown of the funding by initiative is shown in the individual PCT's allocations. It is PCTs' responsibility to decide how to use these funds. That said, the Choosing Health White Paper delivery plan sets out in detail the expectations of how this funding should be utilised.
	As made clear in the Choosing Health White Paper, the Government recognises that people with poor mental health tend to experience worse physical health than the rest of the population. This is why it is supporting well-being support programmes in spearhead PCTs and through the Shift initiative. Guidance for commissioners on well-being support programmes will be published shortly.

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the budget for mental illness was spent on children in the last period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected in the form requested.
	Information from the 2005 child and adolescent mental services (CAMHS) mapping indicates that expenditure on CAMHS rose by 20 per cent. between the financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06.
	In 2004-05 the actual spend on CAMHS was 432.62 million. The predicted spend for 2005-06 was 517.96 million. In 2004-05, primary care trust share of the spend was 360 million in 2004-05 and predicted to rise to 417.96 million in 2005-06. The local authority element was 72.61 million in 2004-05 rising to 99.99 million in 2005-06.

Michael Palin Centre

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much public funding was given to the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many NHS patients have been treated at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many children have been treated for stammering and other speech impediments in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly.

Ministerial Hospital Visits

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS establishments Ministers in her Department have visited in Ludlow constituency in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's Ministers have not visited any national health service establishments in Ludlow constituency in the last 12 months.

Ministerial Hospital Visits

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS establishments Ministers in her Department have visited in the Cotswold constituency in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, visited Cirencester hospital (Cotswold primary care trust) on 25 July 2006.

Ministerial Hospital Visits

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS establishments Ministers in her Department have visited in North Wiltshire constituency in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's Ministers have not visited any national health service establishments in the North Wiltshire constituency in the last 12 months.

Ministerial Hospital Visits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS establishments she has visited in Sussex.

Ivan Lewis: The Secretary of State for Health visited Mill View Hospital (Sussex Partnership National Health Service Trust) and the Royal Sussex County Hospital (Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust) on 14 July 2006.

Ministerial Offices

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times her ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The Secretary of State for Health's ministerial office has been decorated once in 2005 in the last five years.

Missed Appointments

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many missed appointments there have been in each health care trust in  (a) each of the last 12 months and  (b) each of the previous four years.

Andy Burnham: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

MMR Vaccinations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the MMR vaccination rate was in each primary care trust area in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of five-year-old children have missed routine vaccinations.

Caroline Flint: Immunisation data by primary care trust, strategic health authorities and nationally are published annually in the statistical bulletin national health service immunisation statistics, England, which is available on the Department's and The Information Centre for health and social care's websites. Data are not available by local authority or by electoral ward. Links to the latest three publications are:
	 2002-03
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalHealthCare/StatisticalHealthCareArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4081007chk=ckz8H6
	 2003-04
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalHealthCare/StatisticalHealthCareArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4099576chk=d2n5Kj
	 2004-05
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/PublicationsStatisticsArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4119649chk=r6rlW4
	Copies have been placed in the Library.

MRSA

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA cases there have been in each hospital in Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust area in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information is not available in the format required. However, methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) figures for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Services Trust are as follows:
	
		
			   Number/rate 
			  April 2001 to March 2002  
			 Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports 106 
			 MRSA rate (per 1,000 bed days) 0.26 
			  April 2002 to March 2003  
			 Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports 75 
			 MRSA rate (per 1,000 bed days) 0.18 
			   
			  April 2003 to March 2004  
			 Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports 102 
			 MRSA rate (per 1,000 bed days) 0.23 
			   
			  April 2004 to March 2005  
			 Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports 90 
			 MRSA rate (per 1,000 bed days) 0.21 
		
	
	The Department continues to engage those trusts facing the most significant challenges to their delivery plan, which ensures the trust meets an agreed level of reduction in MRSA bacteraemia. Here it is working with trusts most likely to benefit from tailored support. Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is engaged in this improvement programme, and a departmental team concluded a diagnostic assessment, and recommendations for action were due to be presented to the trust board on 25 July. The board will, with departmental support, be working up a detailed action plan to deliver the agreed reduction in MRSA cases.

MRSA

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of cases of MRSA infection in  (a) England and  (b) each region resulted in a fatality in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The data requested are not collected centrally.
	The Office for National Statistics published figures on the number of deaths where methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus was mentioned on the death certificate from 1999 to 2004 in Health Statistics Quarterly 29 in spring 2006. The full paper is at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/HSQ29.pdf.

MRSA

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA have been identified in hospitals in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years, broken down by national health service trust; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   April 2001 to March 2002  April 2002 to March 2003  April 2003 to March 2004  April 2004 to March 2005  April 2005 to March 2006 
			  Trust  Number  Number  Number  Number  Number 
			 Airdale NHS Trust 11 10 20 18 16 
			 Barnsley Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 22 18 22 13 17 
			 Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 45 48 44 75 58 
			 Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust 38 39 37 40 28 
			 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 27 33 46 27 29 
			 Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust 13 11 6 9 8 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 106 75 102 90 101 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 196 165 204 200 165 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 70 95 87 78 70 
			 North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust 36 34 28 40 23 
			 Rotherham General Hospitals NHS Trust 22 14 25 7 21 
			 Scarborough and NE Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust 31 15 33 19 13 
			 Sheffield Children's Hospitals NHS Trust 3 0 2 1 2 
			 Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 67 91 103 103 75 
			 York Health Services NHS Trust 27 16 31 28 22 
			  Source: Department of Health Mandatory methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Bacteraemia Surveillance Scheme 
		
	
	This is the first Government to introduce mandatory MRSA surveillance and this continues to be developed. An improvement programme has been introduced to provide tailored support to those trusts with the most challenging MRSA bacteraemia numbers. The objective is to assist in diagnosing those issues which prevent reduction in infections and to develop practical, robust action plans that speed-up progress and delivery. General support and shared learning is enhanced via trusts' Performance Improvement Network, which has over 80 participants.

National Cancer Peer Review Programme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the National Cancer Peer Review teams are funded.

Rosie Winterton: For 2006-07, funding for peer review is included as part of a block sum which will be made available for strategic health authorities to manage.

National Care Records System

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to ensure the protection of the rights of data subjects under the Data Protection Act 1998, in relation to the National Care Records System; to which categories of electronic information patients  (a) will and  (b) will not be able to restrict access; and what steps are being taken to ensure security and confidentiality of subject-identifiable data.

Caroline Flint: The Department has placed the protection of individual rights at the heart of the new national health service care records service. The Department is working closely with the Information Commissioner to ensure that the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 are met in full, and is sympathetic to the Commissioner's call for increased penalties for those who misuse personal health and other information under Section 55 of the Act.
	However, the Data Protection Act does not provide individuals with the right to restrict access to information where the information is processed in accordance with the principles set out in the Act. The rights of individuals to restrict access to information that relates to them stem from common law confidentiality obligations rather than the Data Protection Act.
	Where information is held in confidence, the common law allows individuals to prevent information from being shared without their consent unless, exceptionally, there is a reason for sharing that requires obligations of confidentiality to be overridden. The new system of electronic care records is therefore being designed to enable patients to restrict access to information that the NHS holds in confidence. Many older NHS systems were not designed to safeguard confidentiality in this way and these will be phased out over the next few years.
	A person's right to confidentiality can, however, be overridden by statute or by a court order and, where these apply, restrictions placed on access by patients have to be set aside. Patients are not permitted to place restrictions on access to information where it is clear that to do so would put others at risk of serious harm. Also, exceptionally, patient restrictions may have to be overridden by a health professional where the public interest in sharing information outweighs obligations of confidentiality, for example in child protection cases. Where an individual's restrictions are overridden the system will generate an alert to enable senior staff to check that the decision was appropriate and lawful.
	The Department has produced what we believe is the most comprehensive privacy statement of any public service in the form of the NHS care record guarantee for England, setting out 12 commitments the NHS makes to patients in order to protect their confidentiality. A major campaign is planned to inform the public about what information the NHS keeps about them, how it is used, the safeguards in place, and their options for putting restrictions on who can access information about them.
	In addition to ensuring compliance with the law, we are committed to best practice in maintaining the security and confidentiality of information systems by applying role-based access, smartcard technology and individual regulation to manage the use of NHS care records. More generally, the Department promotes the highest standards of information governance across the whole health and social care sector in the interests of all patients and clinicians.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence makes an estimate of the total financial impact that its technology appraisal guidance will have on the NHS in a year.

Andy Burnham: Each technology appraisal published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence sets out the potential overall cost impact on the national health service of the recommendations.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a limit is placed on the financial impact that technology appraisal guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence may have on the NHS in relation to cancer treatments.

Andy Burnham: There is no such limit. The role of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is to provide the national health service with guidance on the use of health technologies based on an assessment of their clinical and cost effectiveness.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether provision has been made for the funding of licensed cancer treatments being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for which guidance is expected during 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: Funds for the anticipated costs of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are included in the Department's allocation of resources to the national health service.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether final guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been  (a) reversed and  (b) amended as a result of an appeal;
	(2)  whether the final guidance issued in a technology appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has ever significantly differed from the recommendations published in the original consultation document.

Andy Burnham: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's final guidance has on a number of occasions been amended as the result of either the appeal process or consultation responses.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the 2003 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the use of drug-eluting coronary stent technology on  (a) outcomes for patients and  (b) repeat revascularisation procedures.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of the 2003 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the use of drug-eluting coronary stent technology on outcomes for patients and repeat revascularisation procedures. Furthermore, data on outcomes for patients and how many have required repeat revascularisation procedures are not collected centrally.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the status of the review of guidance on the use of drug-eluting coronary stent technology; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has had no discussions with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the status of their review of guidance on the use of drug-eluting coronary stent technology. I understand that NICE is currently reviewing this guidance and expects to issue revised guidance to the national health service in October 2006.

National Institute for Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) headcount and  (b) whole-time equivalent people are employed in each of the National Institute for Mental Health in England/Care Services Improvement Partnership regional centres.

Rosie Winterton: The numbers of people employed by care services improvement partnership (CSIP), including national institute for mental health in England (NIMHE), in each of its regional centres are as follows:
	
		
			  CSIP regional centre including NHIME  Number of people employed by CISP regional centre including NHIME 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 72 (52 whole-time equivalent) 
			 North West 59 (53) 
			 East Midlands 62 (47) 
			 West Midlands 60 (38) 
			 London 43 (35) 
			 Eastern 42 (40) 
			 South East 43 (32) 
			 South west 35 (27) 
		
	
	It should be noted that the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside regional development centre has significantly more employees because it covers the geographical area of two Government office regions.

National Programme for Information Technology

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1560-1W, on the NHS Care Records Service, 
	(1)  whether the systems being delivered through the National Programme for IT are compatible with the equivalent systems in Scotland and Wales;
	(2)  what parts of the systems developed through the National Programme for Information Technology are incompatible with the equivalent systems in  (a) Scotland and  (b) Wales.

Ivan Lewis: The devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales have adopted different approaches to the development of information technology support in their respective health services from those being delivered through the national programme to the national health service in England, based on their own functional requirements and assessment of priorities.
	England, Scotland, and Wales co-operate closely to ensure a common approach to technical standards, through, for example, the NHS information standards board, so that, where appropriate, information can be exchanged between the health services quickly, safely and securely. Where the countries are following a common approach, there are opportunities for using the same systems. For example, Scotland is using the same N3 network services as England, and is adopting the same picture archiving and communication systems that are used in some English cluster areas. However, because of differing functional requirements and administrative arrangements, systems are not necessarily applicable across all the home countries.

National Programme for Information Technology

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total value is to date of fines paid by NHS organisations for a failure to comply with the terms of contracts related to the national programme for information technology; which NHS organisations paid the fines in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: National programme for information technology contracts do not provide for the payment of fines by national health service organisations. However, an arrangement known as the managed authorities employees scheme provides for the secondment of NHS staff on a temporary basis to work with local service providers (LSPs) to ensure that the systems and services being developed and deployed meet the needs of the NHS. This arrangement was factored into the contracts with LSPs and reflected in the contract price. In some, though not all, cluster areas it is underpinned by a financial liability on NHS organisations for failure to source sufficient numbers of staff with the necessary expertise.

National Programme for Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what way and for what reasons  (a) Northumbria Healthcare,  (b) Norfolk and Norwich NHS Trust,  (c) Dudley NHS Trust and  (d) South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust have dispensed with the NHS IT system; how much it has cost them to do so; and what her estimate is of the impact on the NHS IT programme of their actions.

Caroline Flint: None of the national health service trusts referred to has dispensed with the national programme for information technology (IT). All remain committed to the programme and its objectives, and to realising the benefits it is already bringing, and will continue to bring to NHS patients and staff.
	We have always said that the programme will make maximum use of existing systems when deciding local implementation priorities. We are adopting an incremental approach to replacing existing systems, and this strategy ensures that best use is made of the existing asset base. There is scope within deployment plans in each cluster for existing systems to be replaced in either the shorter or the longer term depending on the circumstances of NHS trusts and primary care trusts locally. It makes no sense to replace prematurely systems with appropriate functionality that are delivering demonstrable benefit to patients and staff when other NHS organisations have systems that are in urgent need of replacement.
	This approach to local deployment lies behind decisions made by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS trust, the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS trust, and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS trust to defer migration to the patient administration system supplied by the local service provider (LSP). The approach is set out in programme-wide implementation guidance. The guidance which is aimed at providing structured and consistent mechanisms, and describing the critical tasks necessary to maximise benefits from the changes being enabled by the national programme, is published on the Department's NHS Connecting for Health agency's website at: www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/implementation The circumstances of the South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust are slightly different.
	The trust was established in April 2002 from three separate organisations, and inherited nine different clinical information systems. Due to the complexity of the current systems and the need to consolidate them it is not currently possible for the Trust to be an early development site for the national programme. The trust board has taken a decision to procure an interim clinical information system which will put it in a stronger position to transfer data onto the LSP-delivered system as soon as this becomes available.
	NHS organisations that retain use of their existing systems typically incur annual maintenance costs, which are paid locally. These costs are saved following migration to solutions provided under the national programme. Information is not collected centrally about the amounts in each case. However, in the case of the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS trust, all IT services and applications were included in the trust's overall public finance initiative contract, and no separate IT maintenance costs are payable.

National Programme for Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) clinical and  (b) administrative IT systems have been installed in the NHS since 2002.

Caroline Flint: The period in part predates the deployment of systems and services through the national programme for information technology, and comprehensive information is not available. In particular, information is not held centrally about local information technology (IT) procurements prior to the national programme, and only partial information is held about local IT systems commissioned that are not within the national programme, such as staff administration and finance systems.
	Available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  National programme clinical and administrative IT installations as at 13 July 2006 
			  System  Type  Primary  Secondary  Deployment level  Total deployed 
			 Accident and emergency Clinical  Yes Trust 3 
			 Acute patient administration system (PAS) Clinical  Yes Trust 12 
			 Interim GP system Clinical Yes  Site 433 
			 Core GP Clinical Yes  Site 20 
			 Child health Clinical Yes  Trust 41 
			 Community health Clinical Yes  Trust 59 
			 Community hospital PAS Clinical  Yes Trust 17 
			 Community PAS Clinical Yes  Trust 58 
			 Emergency care (ambulance) Clinical  Yes Trust 4 
			 Hospital pharmacy Clinical  Yes Trust 3 
			 Map of medicine Clinical Yes Yes Site and Trust 288 
			 Mental health PAS Clinical  Yes Trust 10 
			 PACS Clinical  Yes Trust 37 
			 Pathology Clinical  Yes Trust 2 
			 SAP Admin  Yes Trust 49 
			 Radiology Clinical  Yes Trust 9 
			 Theatres Clinical  Yes Trust 14 
			 Tray management Clinical  Yes Trust 1 
			 Web-based referrer (choose and bookCAB) Clinical Yes  Site 4,064 
			 GP end-to-end system (CAB) Clinical Yes  Site 4,073 
			 Compliant secondary care systems (PAS) (CAB) Clinical  Yes Trust 89 
			 GP systems (electronic prescription serviceEPS) Clinical Yes  Site 1,416 
			 Pharmacy systems (EPS) Clinical Yes  Site 1,463 
			 Quality management and analysis system (QMAS) Admin Yes  Site 8,659 
			 NHSmail Admin  Yes n/a (1)187,602 
			 N3 Admin Yes Yes Site (2)14,913 
			 (1 )Users registered.  (2) connectionsan estimated 865,000 users.   Note: Clinical systems are those which health care professionals use when dealing directly with patients that is front office. Administrative systems are those which support back office facilities for example email/payments. 
		
	
	In addition, we are aware that 187 national health service organisations currently use administrative systems to support the electronic staff record, and over 100 NHS trusts use systems provided by NHS Shared Business Services Ltd. (a joint venture between the Department and Xansa) to provide finance and accounting services to the NHS.
	The vast majority of NHS locations have to date received new software or hardware via the national programme.

NHS Brokerage System

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was received by each hospital from primary care trusts through the NHS brokerage system in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: In each of the last three years cash brokerage was managed by strategic health authorities across the national health service organisations for which they had responsibility. This information is not held centrally by the Department.
	From 2006-07 this system of cash brokerage has ceased and any cash support for NHS trusts will be through a system of interest bearing loans and deposits issued by the Department.

NHS Budget

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1049W, on the NHS budget, which major non-NHS providers received the 5.3 per cent. of the NHS contract spending in 2004-05; and which companies provided the 78.8 million of centrally-procured elective treatment.

Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect centrally information about individual companies providing healthcare services under contracts which are agreed locally with primary care trusts or national health service trusts. The companies that provided centrally procured services in 2004-05 were:
	Interhealth;
	Netcare Healthcare UK Limited;
	Alliance Medical Ltd;
	Capio UK;
	Nuffield Hospitals; and
	The Birkdale Clinic (Rotherham) Ltd

NHS Chief Executives

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many chief executives of  (a) strategic health authorities,  (b) primary care trusts,  (c) hospital trusts and  (d) other NHS organisations (i) have been made redundant since 1 May 2005 and (ii) are in the process of being made redundant; and how many in each category are over the age of 55 years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2006,  Official Report, column 986W, on NHS Direct, what the total volume of calls made to NHS Direct was in each quarter since December 2002.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of calls answered ( 1)  Number of calls referred to 999 services by NHS Direct ( 2)  Percentage of calls to NHS Direct which have been referred to 999  Number of calls referred to accident and emergency (AE) ( 3)  Percentage of calls to NHS Direct which have been referred to AE 
			  2002-03  
			 Q4 1,609,663 52,765 (4)3.3 (5.6) 105,230 (4)6.5 (11.2) 
			  2003-04  
			 Q1 1,655,618 49,065 3.0 (5.4) 106,974 6.5 (11.8) 
			 Q2 1,524,876 50,860 3.3 (5.9) 109,361 7.2 (12.7) 
			 Q3 1,628,297 57,681 3.5 (6.2) 98,794 6.1 (10.6) 
			 Q4 1,595,687 58,948 3.7 (6.1) 106,576 6.7 (10.9) 
			  2004-05  
			 Q1 1,596,680 58,583 3.7 (5.9) 104,427 6.5 (10.5) 
			 Q2 1,550,490 56,105 3.6 (5.9) 94,873 6.1 (10.0) 
			 Q3 1,688,245 62,673 3.7 (5.8) 94,189 5.6 (8.8) 
			 Q4 1,748,935 62,000 3.5 (5.5) 91,395 5.2 (8.1) 
			  2005-06  
			 Q1 1,705,750 59,261 3.5 (5.5) 99,764 5.8 (9.2) 
			 Q2 1,626,366 55,685 3.4 97,610 6.0 
			 Q3 1,723,708 62,046 3.6 98,766 5.7 
			 Q4 1,755,927 61,005 3.5 97,115 5.5 
			 (1) Definition of volume: calls answerednumber of calls answered/handled after the introductory message. (2) Calls referred to ambulance or paramedic services. (3) Calls where patients are asked to attend an AE department. (4) The figures in brackets were calculated using the number of calls answered that required nurse assessment and do not include those that relate to health information and other information requests.  Source:  NHS Direct

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what forecast her Department has made of future levels of demand for NHS Direct services;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the likely impact of proposed site closures and staff redundancies on the number of telephone queries that NHS Direct can handle per month.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not centrally held. It may be available from the chairman of NHS Direct Special Health Authority.

NHS Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS organisations had financial recovery plans in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The Department manages the financial performance of the national health service through strategic health authorities (SHAs). NHS organisations that overspend are required to develop recovery plans to return to financial balance. Recovery plans are agreed and managed by SHAs so the information requested is not held by the Department.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the year-end gross surplus or deficit of the NHS has been in each financial year since 1997-98.

Andy Burnham: The following table provides both the gross and net financial position of the national health service for the years 1997-98 to 2004-05 and the gross and net provisional outturn for 2005-06.
	
		
			  000 
			   Gross surplus  Gross deficit  Total net surplus/(deficit) 
			 1997-98 118,501 (239,854) (121,353) 
			 1998-99 144,756 (163,226) (18,470) 
			 1999-2000 143,465 (272,806) (129,341) 
			 2000-01 152,708 (41,007) 111,701 
			 2001-02 140,587 (69,328) 71,259 
			 2002-03 301,886 (206,239) 95,647 
			 2003-04 338,006 (265,474) 72,532 
			 2004-05 503,917 (725,275) (221,358) 
			 2005-06 (provisional outturn) 764,840 (1,276,930) (512,090) 
			  Notes:  1. Figures for 1997-98 to 2004-05 taken from annual accounts summarisation schedules.  2. Figures for 2005-06 taken from 2005-06 month 12 financial monitoring returns.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average real terms change in spending on the NHS was over the period  (a) 1979 to 1997 and  (b) since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The average annual real terms increase in national health service expenditure over the period 1979-80 to 1996-97 is 3 per cent.
	The average annual real terms increase in NHS expenditure from 1997-98 to 2005-06 is 6.4 per cent.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2068W, on NHS Finance, what the aggregate year-end financial position of each NHS trust was in each year between 1996-97 and 2002.

Andy Burnham: The aggregate financial position of all national health service trusts for the years 1996-97 to 2002-03 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   NHS trust final outturn surplus/(deficit)(000) 
			 1996-97 (50,488) 
			 1997-98 (103,720) 
			 1998-99 (35,908) 
			 1999-2000 (127,565) 
			 2000-01 55,920 
			 2001-02 (40,229) 
			 2002-03 (93,529)

NHS Finance

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much capital expenditure there has been at  (a) Sunderland Royal, Hartlepool university and  (b) Durham university hospital in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Capital expenditure for the relevant trusts is shown in the table for all years currently available. Data are not available at hospital level.
	
		
			  000 
			  NHS trust  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland 6,808 14,144 9,981 7,686 4,852 15,632 3,125 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool 4,397 8,474 7,620 5,788 5,898 5,738 6,780 
			 County Durham and Darlington Acute 3,101 5,513 23,845 18,145 9,372 10,750 12,196 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool 4,397 8,474 7,620 5,788 5,898 5,738 6,780 
			  Source: Audited summarisation schedules for the trusts containing the specified hospitals 1998-99 to 2004-05.

NHS Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS organisations were in deficit in 2005-06; and what the level of deficit was in each case.

Andy Burnham: 2005-06 provisional outturn figures show that there were 174 national health service organisations, excluding NHS foundation trusts, reporting a deficit. This information has been placed in the Library.

NHS Finance

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what impairment values were being carried on NHS trust balance sheets  (a) in aggregate and  (b) broken down by NHS trust at (i) 31 March 2005 and (ii) 31 March 2006.

Andy Burnham: The information for year ending 31 March 2005 (2004-05) has been placed in the Library. Information for year ending 31 March 2006 will not be available until the autumn.
	The table shows impairments reported by national health service trusts for the accounting period 2004-05. Impairment figures are not included in balance sheet fixed asset figures. Impairments cause movements in the fixed asset carrying amounts that are reported in the balance sheet, and so impairments are shown in detailed notes to the balance sheet.
	The table shows:
	impairments charged to the income and expenditure account in the period 2004-05; and
	impairments charged to reserves in the same period.

NHS Finance

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is permitted for NHS institutions to make surpluses.

Andy Burnham: The aim is for the national health service as a whole to return to financial balance by the end of 2006-07. NHS organisations are allowed to make surpluses. Where one NHS organisation overspends, another NHS organisation elsewhere in the system needs to underspend for the NHS as a whole to be in financial balance.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the first set of quarterly data on the NHS financial position for the 2006-07 financial year.

Andy Burnham: We published the first quarterly finance report for the national health service for 2006-07 on 11 August 2006.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of primary care trust allocations are being top-sliced in 2006-07 in  (a) England and  (b) each primary care trust.

Andy Burnham: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) will take the lead locally in developing and implementing a service and financial strategy for managing the financial position within their locality. This will include the creation of local reserves.
	It is for SHAs locally to determine the level of contribution to, and application of these reserves. The level of contribution determined will reflect local financial circumstances, but the underlying principle will be fairness. Those primary care trusts which make a contribution will not lose out, because the money contributed will be repaid, normally within the three-year allocation cycle.

NHS Foundation Trusts

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1784W, on NHS foundation trusts, what direct financial support was provided by her Department to applicants for foundation trust status in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: During 2004-05 and 2005-06 the Department provided direct financial support for national health service foundation trust applicants to the sum of 175,000.

NHS Funding

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has  (a) to reduce capital spending and  (b) to increase revenue spending on the NHS in 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: The Department has no plans to reduce capital investment by the national health service in 2006-07. Indeed funds allocated direct to NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) as operational capital for 2006-07 are on average 25 per cent. higher than the previous year and strategic health authorities' strategic capital funds are on average 13 per cent. higher than in 2005-06.
	Revenue spending on the NHS is also increasing in 2006-07. Allocations to PCTs rose by 9.2 per cent. in 2006-07.
	Capital and revenue are managed and controlled separately by Her Majesty's Treasury. The Department is voted separate budgets for capital and revenue and does not have the power to vire funding from the capital budget to the revenue budget.

NHS Hospitals

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospitals there are in  (a) absolute terms and  (b) per 1,000 population in (i) rural areas and (ii) non-rural areas; which have accident and emergency wards; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (AE) services they provide against definitions set by the Department for the three types of accident and emergency. This is the only level at which such information is available. A table detailing the number of type one accident and emergency departments, by NHS organisation, for the period 2005-06 January to March (Q4) has been placed in the Library.
	Data are not available on whether acute trusts are rural or non-rural. Therefore, it is not possible to split the number of major (type one) accident and emergency departments between rural and non-rural areas.
	Population data at trust level are not collated centrally, as NHS trusts do not have specific catchment areas.

NHS Logistics Authority

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the NHS Logistics Authority will be outsourced;
	(2)  if she will name those persons whom she has  (a) met and  (b) consulted in connection with the outsourcing of the NHS; when each such meeting took place; and what was discussed at each;
	(3)  whether the outsourcing of the NHS Logistics Authority was tendered for in the Official Journal of the European Union; and what the reasons were for that decision;
	(4)  what cost savings she expects to make through the outsourcing of the NHS Logistics Authority; and on what rate the contractor will make a profit in running the authority;
	(5)  whether the IT systems of the NHS Logistics Authority will be transferred to the outsource company.

Andy Burnham: In the autumn of 2003, the Department conducted the procurement and supply chain review. It identified the significant value brought to the national health service through the supply chain activity managed by the NHS Logistics Authority and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency. The review recommended that this valuable service must develop and expand, allowing the NHS to obtain even greater benefits.
	The Department looked at a number of options for delivering the needed development, investment and expansion, and concluded that the best potential opportunity might exist in a new partnership with the independent sector. This reflected the Government's belief that partnerships between the public and independent sectors can be used successfully to develop essential services in the NHS and elsewhere.
	Therefore in August 2004, in accordance with European Union procurement regulations, a notice was published in the Official Journal of the European Union announcing the Department was considering a potential private sector partnering of the supply chain functions of logistics and certain procurement functions of NHS PASA.
	This process has been governed by clear public procurement regulations and in March the full business case received ministerial approval and it was stated that subject to final commercial negotiations a contract would be signed with DHL. If approved by Ministers, an announcement will be made soon. Under the terms of the contract, the infrastructure would transfer to DHL.
	Details of the proposed cost savings are commercial in confidence at this time but it is estimated that they should be three times greater than the savings that could be achieved in-house.
	Since the process began, ministers have met with staff, the unions (UNISON and DTUS), union shop stewards, local Members of Parliament and suppliers. All have sought reassurance that the outsourcing would be in the best interests of staff and the NHS. In addition, ministers have consulted with both legal and commercial advisors.

NHS Managers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 462-3W, on NHS managers, 
	(1)  what the change in the number of managers employed in the NHS in England was between 1 April 1997 and 1 April 2006;
	(2)  if she will clarify how many managers were employed in the NHS on 1 April  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The number of managers employed in the national health service in England in 1997 and 2005 at 30 September each year was 22,173 and 39,391 respectively. Information for 2006 is not available but will begin to fall with the reduction in strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and ambulance trusts. Managers in 2005 were less than 3 per cent. of the NHS workforce.

NHS Modernisation Agency

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what work has been done with the NHS Modernisation Agency since 2002 to change working practices so that IT is used effectively, as set out in her Department's publication Delivering 21st century IT support for the NHS.

Caroline Flint: A consultation document, Delivering 21st Century IT support for the NHS: National Specification for Integrated Care Records Serviceconsultation draft, issued in July 2002, outlined the requirements for a national patient care records service and the national standards and specification which would underpin it. Its purpose was to provide an initial review of electronic patient records and to describe a direction of travel for the whole range of information technology standards in the national health service. Nearly 200 initial responses were received from organisations and individuals, and these were taken into account in drawing up the specification for a care record service used in the procurements phase during 2003. A broad spectrum of NHS stakeholders was then engaged to review the specification, including leading clinicians, practitioners, policy advisors, health informaticians, and managers.
	Following the closure of the Modernisation Agency in 2004-05 (as a result of the Department's arms length body review) a service implementation directorate has been established within NHS Connecting for Health whose purpose is to help to maximise the value gained from investment in the national programme. This is done by providing support and guidance to the NHS to realise benefits and achieve performance improvement through synergy with other change programmes and system reform, in particular through effective education, training and development. The emphasis is to optimise the use of technology to manage knowledge and information to improve care and treatment, safety and clinical governance, and to re-design processes, supported by appropriate information technology, to improve patient, clinician and managerial satisfaction.
	Examples of work done to date in pursuit of these objectives include establishment of an integrated service improvement programme (ISIP) to promote and support the planning and delivery of this kind of transformational change across the NHS. ISIP is focused on helping the national programme for information technology (NPfIT) products to be adopted and exploited by clinicians and managers rather than be seen as peripheral to other NHS priorities and primarily the domain of the IT community.
	In addition, the do once and share programme, initiated in March 2005 and involving over 6,000 clinicians, has been set up to minimise unknowing duplication of effort, and to help clinical specialist networks plan improvements in care that will be made possible by the NPfIT. Forty-four national action teams have been established supported by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, specialist libraries, and the Healthcare Commission to distil the current best practice derived from the NHS's knowledge bases into fifty national care pathways representing current best practice. By the end of June 2006 thirty-nine of the action teams will have produced their final reports, which will enable the distilled knowledge to begin to be integrated into national electronic care pathways.
	NHS Connecting for Health has also been working with the NHS to compile programme-wide national programme implementation guidance. The guidance is intended to act as an entry point to all NPfIT implementation-related guidance for programme and project managers in NHS trusts, but is also useful to many other groups including clinicians, human resources, and training professionals. The purpose of the guidance is to provide a structured and consistent mechanism for implementation, and to describe the critical tasks necessary to maximise benefits from the changes being enabled by NPfIT, irrespective of the type of implementation a local health community is undertaking.
	The guidance, the first version of which was issued in 2004, is published on the NHS Connecting for Health website at
	www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/implementation

NHS Pensions Agency

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of the NHS Pensions Agency in Fleetwood.

Rosie Winterton: NHS Pensions Agency, now part of NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), is currently partially contractorised, with most support services including information and technology, provided by Paymaster (1836) Ltd. The contract with Paymaster contains an options clause to extend the existing contract with the current provider to embrace a range of options and these are currently being considered.
	NHSBSA will make the options appraisal work available to the trade unions shortly. After a period of consultation, the NHSBSA will identify which option offers the best solution.

NHS Performance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2073W, on NHS Performance, whether she expects to use her powers under section 97 of the National Health Service Act 1977, as amended, to make adjustments to primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) allocations when total planned transfers from PCTs to SHAs have been finalised.

Andy Burnham: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) will take the lead locally in developing and implementing a service and financial strategy for managing the financial position within their locality. This will include the creation of local reserves.
	It is for SHAs locally to determine the level of contribution to, and application of, these reserves. The level of contribution determined will reflect local financial circumstances, but the underlying principle will be fairness.
	Transfer of contributions from primary care trusts (PCTs) to SHA reserves will be made by inter-authority transfers under section 97 of the National Health Services Act 1977. Those PCTs which make a contribution will not lose out, because the money contributed will be repaid.

NHS Performance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 July to question 82500, on NHS performance, what the impact was of each of the factors listed in the original question on the resource allocation of each primary care trust.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 24 July 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 July 2006,  Official Report, column 669W.

NHS Spine

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information the NHS Spine contains on each patient; and what rights patients have to withhold their data.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 25 July 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on 6 July,  Official Report, columns 1249-50W, and to the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) on 24 August.
	When a patient seeks or is referred for medical treatment, this will necessarily involve the provision of information by the patient to the clinicians involved. Good clinical management requires that health care professionals keep a record of key information about their patients, and national health service organisations are required to ensure that the information is held securely, and that confidential information is not shared inappropriately. Patients do not, however, have the right to determine the media on which patient records are kept, the physical location of the information or who manages the information systems involved.

NHS Treatment (Eligibility)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of people who are not eligible for free treatment who have received free NHS services in  (a) Guildford and Waverley primary care trust,  (b) Surrey and  (c) England in each year since 1997; and what estimate she has made of the costs in each area in each year
	(2)  what mechanisms are in place to reclaim the cost of using the NHS from those who are ineligible to use it.

Rosie Winterton: Entitlement to access free national health service hospital treatment is based on whether someone is ordinarily resident in this country, not on British nationality or the past or present payment of national insurance contributions or UK taxes. Anyone who is not ordinarily resident is subject to the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended. These regulations place a legal duty on NHS hospitals to establish whether a person is ordinarily resident, or exempt from charges under one of a number of exemption categories, or liable for charges, and to make and recover a charge for the full cost of treatment to those found liable to pay. The onus is on the patient to provide satisfactory evidence to support a claim for exemption from charges.
	Where it is established that charges apply they cannot be waived for any reason. NHS trusts are instructed to take all reasonable measures, based on the circumstances of each individual case, to pursue overseas visitors' debt. Nevertheless, we have also made very clear to NHS trusts that immediately necessary treatment, needed to save life or prevent a condition from becoming life-threatening, should always be provided without delay, with charging issues dealt with as soon as reasonably practicable.
	Successive Governments have not required the NHS to provide statistics on the number of overseas visitors seen or treated under the provisions of these regulations or on the costs of treatment. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested on how many chargeable overseas visitors have received free NHS treatment, nor on the costs involved.

NHS Trusts (Final Accounts)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2005,  Official Report, columns 1151-2W, on NHS trusts (final accounts), what the equivalent figures are for 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: National health service trusts final accounts for 2005-06 will not be available until autumn 2006. The provisional 2005-06 outturn position for all NHS organisations (strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts) has been placed in the Library.

Non-NHS Staff

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on non-NHS staff by each London  (a) primary care trust and  (b) strategic health authority in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The following tables show data on non-national health service staff costs by primary care trusts from 2003-04 to 2004-05, and strategic health authorities for 2003-04 to 2004-05 within London. These are the only full years for which this information is available for PCTs in London.
	
		
			  Non-NHS staff costs for PCTs and SHAs in London 
			  PCT spend on non-NHS staff () 
			   2003-04  2004-05 
			 Hillingdon PCT 2,681,069 2,549,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 3,297,599 1,906,000 
			 Haling PCT 4,398,000 4,152,000 
			 Hounslow PCT 1,714,000 1,476,000 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 4,805,787 6,645,000 
			 Harrow PCT 435,540 542,000 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 10,022,128 3,934,000 
			 Westminster PCT 5,169,353 2,403,000 
			 Barnet PCT 2,918,939 3,353,000 
			 Enfield PCT 2,613,936 2,880,000 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 3,532,802 2,479,000 
			 Camden PCT 5,436,895 7,652,000 
			 Islington PCT 3,785,270 4,823,000 
			 Havering PCT 3,013,630 3,702,000 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 1,806,601 1,729,000 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 2,923,475 3,392,000 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 4,157,185 4,765,000 
			 Newham PCT 2,957,327 3,482,000 
			 Redbridge PCT 2,314,926 2,551,000 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 2,653,207 2,623,000 
			 Bromley PCT 1,657,347 1,669,000 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 1,789,062 1,515,000 
			 Lambeth PCT 3,898,639 3,795,000 
			 Southwark PCT 2,025,498 3,107,000 
			 Lewisham PCT 2,097,786 2,620,000 
			 Bexley Care Trust 577,999 899,000 
			 Kingston PCT 1,615,253 1,216,000 
			 Croydon PCT 3,108,035 2,949,000 
			 Wandsworth PCT 3,934,482 3,688,000 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 1,270,905 1,838,000 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 2,517,461 3,578,000 
		
	
	
		
			  SHA spend on non-NHS staff () 
			   2003-04  2004-05 
			 North West London SHA 318,325 414,000 
			 North Central London SHA 429,963 203,000 
			 North East London SHA 647,329 2,207,000 
			 South East London SHA 197,660 302,000 
			 South West London SHA 49,899 89,000 
			  Sources: PCT annual financial returns from 2000-01 to 2004-05 SHA annual financial returns from 2002-03 to 2004-05

Non-urgent Procedures

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts do not pay for non-urgent procedures for patients which are undertaken by hospitals within 20 weeks of referral.

Andy Burnham: Increasingly the care that primary care trusts commission from hospitals on behalf of their local populations is subject to payment by results. Payment by results is a national policy, and there is a mandatory tariff, which applies across the whole of the national health service. The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2006/07, published in January 2006, set out the ability for strategic health authorities to agree specific local additional rules for a fixed period of time under special circumstances.

Obesity

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on public health campaigns to tackle obesity in children and young people in each year from 1997 to 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Aggregated expenditure data for public health campaigns to tackle obesity in children and young people is not held centrally. However, current public health campaigns aim to tackle obesity through the promotion of healthy eating practices and increased physical activity. Examples of centrally funded schemes which contribute include the 5 A DAY programme, school fruit and vegetable scheme (SFVS), healthy schools initiative, and the local exercise action pilot (LEAP). The total cost of the SFVS is estimated at 34 million during the period specified, and the Department makes a yearly contribution of 9.6 million to the local healthy schools programme. The LEAP scheme has received 1.3 million in funding from the Department to date. In addition primary care trusts allocate funding on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Obesity

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) children and  (b) adults were diagnosed as being obese in Brent in each year since 1997, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) age.

Caroline Flint: The main source of data on the prevalence of obesity is the Health Survey for England (HSE). The data are not available in the form requested as the sample size of the HSE does not allow estimates to be produced at below strategic health authority (SHA) level. All data in the tables are the most recent available.
	Tables one and two show the prevalence of obesity among adults and children respectively, by sex and age, in England in each year from 1997 to 2004. Table three shows the prevalence of obesity among adults in North West London SHA (the SHA which contains Brent) as a three-year moving average for the period 1995 to 2002. Table four shows the prevalence of obesity among children aged two to 10 in London Government Office Region (GOR) based on combined 2001 and 2002 HSE data.
	
		
			  Table 1. Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 16 and over by sex and age, England 1997-2004 
			  Percentages 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Men 
			 All ages 17.0 17.3 18.7 21.0 21.0 22.1 22.9 23.6 
			 16-24 5.0 5.2 6.2 9.3 9.5 9.2 8.6 8.2 
			 25-34 13.1 15.9 16.4 20.3 16.0 17.9 17.8 18.8 
			 35-44 17.5 16.8 21.1 21.3 22.7 23.8 25.0 24.5 
			 45-54 21.6 21.2 23.1 25.0 26.0 27.8 28.1 29.5 
			 55-64 27.4 23.3 21.0 25.8 26.5 28.1 26.8 30.0 
			 65-74 18.4 21.2 21.7 24.5 24.4 26.4 28.7 27.9 
			 75+ 11.9 15.9 17.9 17.1 17.9 19.2 20.9 17.9 
			  Women 
			 All ages 19.7 21.2 21.1 21.4 23.5 22.8 23.4 23.8 
			 16-24 8.6 10.7 10.0 8.6 11.9 11.3 13.3 12.2 
			 25-34 14.5 16.3 15.8 15.7 19.3 20.9 18.7 17.9 
			 35-44 18.2 20.5 19.0 19.2 22.2 22.8 21.7 23.6 
			 45-54 22.5 23.9 25.7 24.2 27.6 25.4 26.5 25.8 
			 55-64 30.1 28.6 28.8 29.3 30.7 29.1 27.8 32.2 
			 65-74 24.8 29.0 30.0 30.1 30.2 28.3 29.9 28.2 
			 75+ 21.9 20.7 20.0 23.3 20.4 22.3 26.1 20.3 
			  Bases Men 
			 All ages 3,685 6,600 3,204 3,260 6,267 2,969 5,966 2,444 
			 16-24 476 825 389 400 757 1,553 686 255 
			 25-34 710 1,261 566 591 1,051 464 962 388 
			 35-44 714 1,229 626 662 1,220 629 1,178 478 
			 45-54 667 1,197 579 528 1,112 485 1,001 390 
			 55-64 511 910 466 469 958 445 997 424 
			 65-74 414 745 383 376 766 329 736 319 
			 75+ 193 433 195 234 403 203 406 190 
			  Women 
			 All ages 4,254 7,730 3,699 3,703 7,414 3,509 7,090 3,135 
			 16-24 510 903 459 362 856 1,719 788 294 
			 25-34 816 1,433 647 674 1,221 513 1,088 453 
			 35-44 780 1,449 744 778 1,513 737 1,452 649 
			 45-54 766 1,373 689 632 1,331 590 1,142 527 
			 55-64 552 1,043 465 509 1,038 519 1,194 538 
			 65-74 479 853 410 422 871 403 810 393 
			 75+ 351 676 285 326 584 300 616 281 
			  Source: Health Survey for England 2004updating of trend tables to include 2004 data, The Information Centre For Health and Social Care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Prevalence of obesity among children aged 2-15 by sex and age, England 1997-2004 
			  Percentages 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Boys 
			 All aged 2-15 12.7 13.0 16.4 14.5 15.5 16.9 17.0 18.9 
			 2-10 11.1 11.4 16.1 12.2 13.5 15.2 14.9 16.2 
			 11-15 15.6 16.3 16.9 18.8 18.8 19.8 20.4 23.7 
			  Girls 
			 All aged 2-15 12.4 13.8 13.7 14.2 14.5 17.1 16.1 17.8 
			 2-10 10.7 11.8 13.0 11.8 12.7 15.8 12.5 11.9 
			 11-15 16.2 17.5 15.2 18.1 17.7 19.2 21.9 26.2 
			  Bases Boys 
			 All aged 2-15 3,063 1,981 977 877 1,653 3,745 1,410 645 
			 2-10 2,007 1,336 633 570 1,035 2,364 876 416 
			 11-15 1,056 645 343 306 618 1,381 533 230 
			  Girls 
			 All aged 2-15 3,069 1,872 950 841 1,699 3,636 1,444 579 
			 2-10 2,082 1,216 628 523 1,094 2,290 897 343 
			 11-15 987 656 322 318 605 1,346 547 236 
			  Source: Health Survey for England 2004updating of trend tables to include 2004 data, The Information Centre For Health and Social Care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 16 and over in North West London SHA(3-year moving average) by sex, 1995-2002 
			  Percentages 
			   1995-97  1996-98  1997-99  1998-2000  1999-2001  2000-02 
			 Men 13.3 15.1 17.7 17.3 17.0 13.4 
			 Women 19.4 18.6 19.7 20.1 22.8 22.8 
			  Bases   
			 Men 487 518 354 348 275 295 
			 Women 593 615 422 395 334 369 
			  Source: Health Survey for England: Health and Lifestyle indicators for strategic health authorities 1994-2002, Department of Health. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Prevalence of obesity among children aged 2-10 years in London GOR,  2001-02 
			  Percentage 
			 Children aged 2-10 18.2 
			 Base (weighted) 830 
			 Base (unweighted) 701 
			  Source: Obesity among children under 11, Department of Health

Ophthalmic Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of ophthalmic services in  (a) England and  (b) each region was in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Expenditure on national health service general ophthalmic services is shown in the following table. This covers the cost of NHS-funded sight tests and the cost of NHS optical vouchers to assist with the purchase of spectacles. The table also shows expenditure for the last five years to 2004-05, which is the latest year for which full accounts data are currently available. Data for NHS expenditure on hospital ophthalmic services are not available centrally.
	
		
			  Expenditure on general ophthalmic services by former strategic health authority area 
			  000 
			  Strategic health authority  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 12,233 12,741 12,520 12,910 14,200 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 8,351 8,700 8,986 9,197 10,364 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 17,979 18,695 18,908 20,081 21,548 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 16,230 17,105 16,834 17,276 18,274 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 7,490 7,891 9,137 8,498 7,561 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 11,547 12,072 12,510 13,079 13,867 
			 Dorset and Somerset 6,980 7,361 6,349 8,045 8,433 
			 Essex 8,936 9,371 9,774 10,448 10,712 
			 Greater Manchester 16,746 17,498 17,419 18,278 18,733 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 8,998 9,413 9,978 9,917 10,680 
			 Kent and Medway 8,730 8,929 7,919 10,593 10,457 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 8,575 9,289 9,255 10,123 10,804 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 11,483 12,191 12,143 13,292 14,722 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 8,816 9,517 9,437 9,656 10,523 
			 North Central London 7,235 7,497 7,570 7,621 7,913 
			 North East London 10,831 10,982 10,187 11,924 12,219 
			 North West London 9,094 9,547 9,608 9,498 9,911 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 10,066 10,501 10,985 11,247 11,670 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 8,483 9,165 8,696 9,675 10,439 
			 South East London 7,718 8,004 7,615 8,279 8,688 
			 South West London 6,154 5,902 6,021 6,271 6,750 
			 South West Peninsula 10,311 10,557 10,771 10,830 12,107 
			 South Yorkshire 7,810 8,219 8,505 8,972 9,507 
			 Surrey and Sussex 12,820 12,603 13,325 13,538 14,405 
			 Thames Valley 9,223 9,531 9,993 10,290 11,367 
			 Trent 14,994 15,838 16,074 17,425 18,025 
			 West Midlands South 8,675 9,061 8,728 9,352 9,962 
			 West Yorkshire 13,434 14,203 14,664 15,296 16,140 
			   
			 England 289,942 302,383 303,911 321,611 339,981

Osteoarthritis

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at which locations her Department funds research into  (a) understanding and  (b) treatment of osteoarthritis; and if she will make a statement on the Government's strategy for researching osteoarthritis.

Andy Burnham: Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is currently devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects including a large number concerned with osteoarthritis are available on the national research register (NRR) at www.dh.gov.uk/research. NRR entries include the address of the hospital or other location at which the principal researcher is based.
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the NHS. Information about osteoarthritis research commissioned by Department's national research programmes can similarly be found on the NRR.
	The Government also support medical and clinical research by funding the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation.
	The MRC spent 6.8 million on arthritis and rheumatism research in 2003-04, and is about to issue a highlight notice encouraging researchers to submit innovative proposals aimed at identifying factors involved in the maintenance of musculoskeletal health, especially where such research could underpin the development of new diagnostic approaches.
	The approaches to the research are also important and the MRC wishes particularly to support longer- term collaborative research from new partnerships working at the interface of basic and clinical research. To this end, the MRC will consider collaborative funding with other research councils, charities and industry.

Osteoporosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  why the decision was made not to include measures to diagnose and treat osteoporosis within the Quality and Outcomes Frameworks;
	(2)  what consideration her Department has given to the inclusion of osteoporosis in the Quality and Outcomes Framework of the General Medical Services contract.

Andy Burnham: As part of the negotiations for the new general medical services contract for April 2006 an expert panel was engaged by NHS Employers to receive and review submissions on clinical areas for possible inclusion in the quality and outcomes framework (QOF). The number of submissions to the panel for the inclusion of osteoporosis totalled seven out of 514. All submissions were considered and the expert panel produced reports which have been published on the University of Birmingham website at: www.pcpoh.bham.ac.uk/primarycare/QOF/index.htm. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	During the negotiations many clinical conditions were considered. The key criteria for inclusion in QOF were:
	an evidence base for the effectiveness of intervention in primary care;
	the health benefits likely to result from improved primary care; and
	Government health priorities for investment through the contractual arrangements with general practitioners.
	Due to technical problems with the proposed indicators and the degree of priority attached to other changes to the QOF, the proposals for osteoporosis were not taken forward for the 2006 contract changes. As part of the continuing development of the framework, indicators will be reviewed in the light of emerging evidence.

Out-of-hours Care

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average hourly rate of pay was for GPs providing out-of-hours care in 2005-06;
	(2)  if she will conduct an evaluation of standards of out-of-hours care following the introduction of the general medical service contract in 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Information on general practitioner pay for out-of-hours services is not collected centrally.
	The National Audit Office published a report on The Provision of Out-of-hours Care in England on 5 May 2006. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The report highlights that patient experiences of out-of-hours services are generally positive.
	Eight out of 10 patients are satisfied with the service, while six out of 10 rate the service as excellent or good.

Outsourcing

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what administrative functions for which her Department is responsible are outsourced overseas; and what assessment she has made of the merits of outsourcing further such functions overseas.

Caroline Flint: None of the Department's administrative functions are outsourced overseas. However, in April 2005, the Department entered into a 50/50 joint venture partnership with Xansa to provide shared services to the national health service, called NHS Shared Business Services. NHS Shared Business Services now has over 100 clients on board for finance and accounting services and it is expanding into other areas such as payroll and e-procurement.
	To date, NHS Shared Business Services has offshored some activities to India:
	elements of information technology development;
	user amendment and set-ups;
	supplier information set-up and maintenance; and
	accounts payable verification.

Overseas Doctors

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rules and regulations govern overseas doctors who work in the national health service; who assesses the competence of overseas doctors; and whether that assessment is carried out by a  (a) national and  (b) local scheme.

Rosie Winterton: Overseas doctors who work in the national health service are subject to the same terms and conditions of employment as their United Kingdom (UK) counterparts. Like all doctors, before they can practise medicine in the UK they must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and are subject to the GMC's standards of fitness to practise.
	At present, for international medical graduates from outside the European economic area the first step is to gain limited registration. This will enable them to practise in the NHS in supervised employment. Before they can be granted limited registration they must provide the GMC with evidence of their medical knowledge and skills-passes at part one and part two of the PLAB test.

Parallel-traded Medicines

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the value was of parallel-traded prescription medicines in the UK in 2005-06;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the effect of parallel imports on the NHS pharmaceutical budget in 2005-06;
	(3)  what the additional earnings were of pharmacists from the purchase of parallel traded medicines in 2005-06;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the reimbursement mechanism for pharmacists in England on  (a) parallel imports and  (b) new branded medicines entering the market.

Andy Burnham: No estimates are available centrally.

Parallel-traded Medicines

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ensures that the procedures that the research and development based pharmaceutical industry has to follow to ensure quality and patient safety is followed by parallel import traders.

Andy Burnham: The United Kingdom (UK) parallel import licensing scheme, as required by the European treaty, allows medicinal products already authorised in other European Union (EU) member states to be marketed in the UK provided the imported products have no therapeutic difference from the equivalent UK products and do not appear in the light of scientific knowledge to differ as regards their safety and efficacy.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) liaises closely with the relevant competent authorities in the EU to obtain the necessary information to ensure that only those products which fully comply with the stringent criteria for parallel import are granted a licence.
	Quality and patient safety are further ensured by a thorough assessment of the proposed labelling and/or packaging and the patient information leaflet by assessors prior to the issuing of a licence. Repackaging of the imported product when it occurs is carried out by an approved company in possession of a manufacturer's or assembler's licence, issued by the MHRA. In addition, patient information leaflets and/or packaging are kept up to date by variations to the parallel import licences when relevant information becomes available via the MHRA's pharmacovigilance activities.
	Parallel import traders are also subject to routine inspections by staff of the MHRA's inspection and standards division.

Parallel-traded Medicines

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether parallel importers of pharmaceuticals are asked to guarantee continuous supplies to the NHS.

Andy Burnham: Neither parallel importers or pharmaceutical companies are asked to guarantee continuous supplies to the national health service. However, for those products tendered and contracted for by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency on behalf of NHS trusts, arrangements are in place to ensure that the supply chain is robust.

Parliamentary Questions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to question 22980, tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam on 25 October 2005, on NHS organisations' financial recovery plans.

Andy Burnham: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 22 August 2006.

Patient Care Records

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has issued to doctors following the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's recommendations on the advisability of patients being given a record of significant matters discussed during diagnosis and at key stages during their treatment; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Cancer networks have developed action plans to ensure the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) supportive and palliative care guidance is implemented. This includes setting key milestones for delivery, including setting a date by which patients will be provided with a permanent record of important points relating to their consultation. Implementation of the NICE guidance will take place over a number of years and will be monitored by strategic health authorities. We have also commissioned work for the development of a tool to assess patient need at key stages throughout the cancer journey. This will report in spring 2007.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1228W, on practice-based commissioning, what the total level of expenditure on incentive payments for practices to take up practice-based commissioning was in each year since the incentive payments were first offered.

Caroline Flint: A directed enhanced service (DES) had been negotiated under the new general medical services contract to offer all practices an incentive payment to take part in practice based commissioning. The DES is for 2006-07 and has two component parts, each of 95p per registered patient. The DES is available until the end of March 2007, therefore a total expenditure for this year is not currently available.

Prescriptions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many prescriptions were not used to collect medicines in each of the last five years for which records are available;
	(2)  what research she has undertaken to establish the principle reasons for prescriptions not being used by patients;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the percentage of people earning less than 10,000 who are eligible for free prescriptions;
	(4)  what percentage of free prescriptions were provided under each type of exemption in each of the last three years;
	(5)  whether individual primary care trusts have any freedom to establish prescription charges on services that are provided free-of-charge nationally.

Andy Burnham: Information is not available about the number of prescriptions issued to patients but not subsequently dispensed and no research has been undertaken to establish the reasons for prescriptions not being used.
	Anyone whose income (including earnings) is less than 15,050 per year and is receiving child tax credit, or working tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element, is entitled to free prescriptions. No separate assessment has been made of the number with earnings under 10,000 who are eligible for free prescriptions.
	Prescription charges may only be made in accordance with section 77 of the National Health Service Act 1977 and regulations made under that Actthe National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2000 (as amended).
	Information about the percentage of the total prescriptions provided free in respect of each type of exemption is in the table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			 People aged 60 and over 64.9 65.7 64.9 
			 Children under 16 and young people aged 16-18 in full time education 7.6 6.9 6.7 
			 Maternity and medical exemption certificate held 8.2 8.4 8.3 
			 Income based entitlement 13.8 13.6 13.1 
			 Prescribed contraceptives 1.5 1.4 1.3 
			 Items personally administered by a doctor 2.9 2.9 3.1 
			 Other items including war pensioners and no specific declaration 1.2 1.2 2.5 
			  Note:  The figures do not total 100 per cent. due to rounding. Source: The information in the table has been taken from the Statistical Bulletin which is available at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/prescriptionsdispensed and which provides more detailed information.

Prescriptions

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster are eligible for free prescriptions.

Andy Burnham: Information is not collected about the individuals in Barnsley and Doncaster who are entitled to free prescriptions. The information available about the number of free prescriptions is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Prescriptions dispensed in 2005 
			   Barnsley  Doncaster 
			 Total items dispensed (million) 4.1 5.4 
			 Total free of charge items (million) 3.6 4.7 
			 Percentage of total dispensed free of charge 87.8 87.0 
			 Total chargeable items (million) 0.5 0.7 
			 Percentage of total chargeable 12.2 13.0

Prescriptions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts charge  (a) day surgery and  (b) accident and emergency patients for prescriptions.

Andy Burnham: The regulations governing prescription charges provide that a charge should be made by national health service trusts and foundation trust in respect of drugs supplied, other than for administration at a hospital, unless the patient is exempt. No information is collected about the manner in which the regulations are applied in respect of day surgery patients or accident and emergency patients.

Primary Care Trust Funding

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding per head of population was allocated to each primary care trust in 2005-06, ranked from the highest to the lowest.

Andy Burnham: The information requested has been placed in the Library. Revenue allocations are made to primary care trusts on the basis of relative needs of their populations.

Prisoner Transportation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her Department has held with health care professionals about the transportation of prisoners who are  (a) pregnant and  (b) suffering from medical conditions affecting mobility; what related guidance she has issued to (i) health care professionals and (ii) the National Offender Management Service; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: It is a requirement for all prisoners to have their medical needs assessed by a health care professional prior to transportation. The precise arrangements for this are a matter for prisons and primary care trusts. The Department has not issued guidance centrally on this matter, and has had no recent meetings with health care professionals about the transportation of prisoners.

Psychotherapy Training

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric trainees undertook psychotherapy training in 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: As at 30 September 2005 there were 3,589 doctors training in the psychiatry specialties of which 43 were in psychotherapy.
	In order to obtain a psychiatry specialist registrar post all candidates must have undertaken some training in psychotherapy.

Questionnaires

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) questionnaires,  (b) statistical inquiries and  (c) investigations have been carried out wholly or partly at public expense on behalf of or by her Department or public bodies for which she is responsible in each year since 1997; and what the (i) nature, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost was of each.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 9 August 2006 which set out information on statistical surveys and statistical collections from the national health service and social care services. Information in respect of other parts of the question could not be produced without incurring disproportionate costs.

Redundancy Payments

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on redundancy payments by  (a) her Department,  (b) strategic health authorities,  (c) primary care trusts,  (d) ambulance trusts and  (e) other NHS bodies in each financial year since 1996-97; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 13 July 2006
	Data for the national health service are not collected centrally. In early 2003 the Department began a substantial change programme which led to redundancy costs of 4.32 million in 2004-05 and 0.28 million in 2005-06. Any expenditure in earlier years could be established only at disproportionate cost.

Regulation Review

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to publish her Department's  (a) review of information requirements and  (b) wider review of regulation.

Andy Burnham: The Health Reform in England: Update and Commissioning Framework was published on 13 July 2006, and copies have been placed in the Library.
	This document contains a detailed commissioning framework and updates on the future of provider reform, workforce development and system management and regulation and information needs.
	A consultation document on system management and regulation will be published in the autumn.

Resources Allocation

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has carried out into the comparative costs of providing health services in urban and rural areas.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The weighted-capitation formula, used to inform revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), is continuously overseen by the advisory committee on resource allocation (ACRA). The issues faced by rural areas have been looked at by ACRA on numerous occasions when considering the allocation of funds to PCTs.
	In 1997 a team of researchers was contracted to examine the effect of rurality on the cost of providing certain services. Accident and emergency services and patient transport costs were examined but no evidence of unavoidable geographical costs were found for these services. However, geographical cost differences were found for emergency ambulance services. This led to the introduction of an emergency ambulance cost adjustment (EACA) from the 1998-99 health authority allocations. The results of this study are recorded in Study of Costs of Providing Health Services in Rural Areas Progress Report to Resource Allocation GroupVolumes 1 and 2. This research was published by Mallender Hancock Associates/Operational Research in Health Ltd.
	ACRA's current work programme includes looking again at rural issues. This work will inform the revenue allocations post 2007-08.

Resources Allocation

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the review of the market forces factor of the weighted-capitation formula will report.

Andy Burnham: A review of the market forces factor (MFF) component of the weighted-capitation formula has been commissioned. The review is being overseen by the advisory committee on resource allocation (ACRA). ACRA will report to Ministers on the MFF review in advance of the next allocations round, as the review will inform revenue allocations to primary care trusts post 2007-08.

Resources Allocation

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the members of the Advisory Committee on Resources Allocation were selected; and what steps her Department took to ensure that experts on health services in rural areas were included on the Advisory Committee.

Andy Burnham: Officials at the Department on behalf of the Secretary of State appoint members of the advisory committee on resource allocation (ACRA) and its subsidiary, the technical advisory group (TAG). In appointing ACRA and TAG members, the aim is to ensure there is the appropriate mix of expertise and experience in all technical and health service issues covered by the groups, including expertise in health services in rural areas.

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations have been made by the turnaround team auditors of the Royal Cornwall hospitals' trust in respect of  (a) hospital services,  (b) hospital sites and  (c) hospital staff.

Andy Burnham: The turnaround plan is produced locally by the trust with its partners where the specific information will be available.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, announced the turnaround teams in a written ministerial statement on 1 December 2005,  Official Report, column 37WS.
	The first stage was a baseline assessment, the aim of which was to ensure there is an agreed understanding of the local financial problem and that actions were in hand to address the problem. The contract for the baseline assessment, which took place for the royal Cornwall hospital's trust in February 2006, was awarded to consultants KPMG.
	This assessment stage resulted in KPMG rating organisations as:
	immediate priority. Need for urgent intervention to drive turnaround;
	additional expertise/resource needed to support the turnaround;
	drive/focus. Maintain high priority of actions; and
	regular challenge of management. Encourage to share what works and deliver easy wins.
	The Royal Cornwall hospital NHS trust was rated by KPMG as an immediate priority and needing urgent intervention to drive turnaround. The KPMG assessment therefore did not make specific recommendations in relation to actions for individual organisations. The trust subsequently appointed advisers to help the trust produce a turnaround plan which describes the actions that the trust plans to undertake.

Rule of Rescue Principle

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the rule of rescue principle applies to NHS treatment of  (a) brain tumours and  (b) other conditions; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Decisions on the most appropriate care of any individual patient are usually taken by their treating clinician in consultation with the patient, bearing in mind the individual's clinical circumstances, relevant evidence and the need to make effective use of the national health service's resources.

Rural Health Services

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment of health needs in rural areas is undertaken by  (a) her Department and  (b) primary care trusts.

Andy Burnham: Nationally, the Department rural proofs policy across much of its business. In policy development we ensure that all communities, including those in rural areas, are able to benefit from our national objectives for healthcare. Examples of our rural proofing activity can be found in the Commission for Rural Communities annual report on rural proofing at: www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk. This commends our White Paper Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services highlighting policies aimed at providing care closer to the home. Proposals for social care and integration, initiatives to support carers, such as a dedicated telephone helpline, and set of community hospitals will be particularly beneficial to rural populations.
	The Department's document Health reform in England: update and commissioning framework, published on 13 July 2006, sets out a framework for strengthening commissioning in the new primary care trusts (PCTs). An essential part of this is the effective assessment of the health needs of all communities, including those in rural areas. PCTs' effectiveness is assessed by the strategic health authorities, as well as by the Healthcare Commission.
	To further support delivery of health objectives in rural communities, the Department with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs funded the Institute of Rural Health, an independent research charity, for the production of a rural proofing toolkit. This was launched at the House of Commons in October 2005, and now acts as a resource for primary care organisations to help ensure that all health care delivery is accessible and appropriate for people living in rural areas.

Section 19 Referrals

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  for which trusts and strategic health authorities auditors have considered, but not made, section 19 referrals in the last 12 months;
	(2)  pursuant to her answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 605W, on the Audit Commission Act, how many reports she has received in each category since issuing that response;
	(3)  pursuant to her answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 605W, on the Audit Commission Act, for what reason  (a) West Midlands strategic health authority,  (b) West Hertfordshire hospitals NHS trust and  (c) Avon Ambulance Service NHS trust were absent from her response in the  Official Report of 21 June 2006, column 1942W;
	(4)  pursuant to her answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 605W, on the Audit Commission Act, for what reason East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is not listed;
	(5)  pursuant to her answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 604W, on the Audit Commission Act, if she will break down the number of  (a) Section 8 reports,  (b) Section 19 referrals and  (c) Qualifications on accounts Section 19 referrals by month since 2003, including any referrals that have been made since that answer.

Andy Burnham: Consideration of whether or not to make a referral under section 19 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 is a matter solely for the appointed auditor and information is not available centrally on instances where this has been considered, but no referral has been made.
	Since the answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 605W, two further referrals have been made in respect of organisations having little prospect of achieving financial balance within a three or five year period.
	In the response of 21 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1942W, West Hertfordshire national health service trust was included in the list of section 8 reports under West Hertfordshire Quadrant, which also constituted a referral under section 19. The referral for Avon Ambulance Trust was not included as it had not been made at the time of compilation of the answer.
	The previous answers referred to above omitted West Midlands South strategic health authority (from the answer of 21 June) and East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (from the answer of 29 June), and the number of qualifications on account referrals in 2003 should have been 16 (in the table in the answer of 29 June).
	The number of section 8 reports, section 19 referrals and qualification on accounts section 19 referrals by month since 2003 is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Year/month  Section 8 reports  Section 19 referrals  Qualification on account referrals( 1) 
			  2003
			 March 1   
			 April 1   
			 July   16 
			 Total 2 0 16 
			 
			  2004
			 January  1  
			 July   53 
			 September 1 1  
			 December 1   
			 Total 2 2 53 
			 
			  2005
			 February  1  
			 March 2   
			 June 2 1  
			 July 9 1 93 
			 August 1   
			 September 2 1  
			 November 3   
			 December 4 3  
			 Total 23 7 93 
			 
			  2006 to date
			 January 1   
			 February 6 6  
			 April 8 12  
			 June 1 3  
			 July  1  
			 Total 16 22 (3) 
			 (1 )The section 19 referrals issued to these organisations took the form of regularity reports on accounts and did nor constitute a full report to the Secretary of State.  (2) To date.  (3) Not yet available.

Sexual Health

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what interim monitoring her Department is undertaking of the delivery by primary care trusts and strategic health authorities of the Government's 2008 targets  (a) to reduce the level of new infections of gonorrhoea and  (b) to ensure that all patients have access to genito-urinary medicine clinics within 48 hours.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of sexually transmitted infections for 2005 for each region were published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on 4 July in each region. The number of cases of gonorrhoea has decreased by 14 per cent. in England since 2004. The report is freely available from the HPA website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm
	Sexual health and access to genito-urinary (GUM) clinics is one of the six top priorities for the national health service in 2006-07. By 2008 everyone should be offered an appointment within 48 hours of contacting a GUM clinic. Strategic health authorities (SHAs) have all submitted plans to meet this target.
	The GUM clinic waiting times audit collects data on waiting times for all GUM clinics in England for a period of one week every quarter. All patients attending a GUM clinic with a new episode or registering for the first time are asked to complete the short questionnaire on waiting times. This audit has been chosen as the initial method of monitoring and improving access to genito-urinary medicine services. Current analysis is published on numbers seen within 48 hours. The most recent survey is for May 2006 which shows that in England 54 per cent. of attendees were seen within 48 hours and a further 4 per cent. were offered an appointment but did not attend. This compares with 45 per cent. seen within 48 hours in May 2004. A summary of the data is published on the HPA website at the following web address:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/results_May_2006.htm
	In addition the Department is working with SHAs and primary care trusts to establish a new continuous monitoring system for GUM access to all local areas to better performance manage their progress to the 2008 target. We expect GUM services to start returning data in August 2006.

Sexual Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of  (a) gonorrhoea,  (b) syphilis,  (c) chlamydia and  (d) thrush were diagnosed in each primary care trust in London in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of sexually transmitted infections for 2005 for each region was published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on 4 July in each region. Copies have been placed in the Library. The report is freely available from the HPA website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm
	Figures on the number of cases of thrush are not collected centrally.

Sexual Health

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free condoms her Department has issued in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 November 2005,  Official Report, column 635W.

Sexual Health

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners have opted out of providing sexual health services in each year from 1997 to 2005  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by region.

Caroline Flint: This information is not collected centrally.

Shared Business Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS organisations have transferred their finance, accounting and payroll services to shared business services; what estimate she has made of the reduction in the number of NHS posts as a result of the transfer of these services; and to what extent predicted cost savings have been achieved.

Andy Burnham: Since the inception in April 2005 of the Department's 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) with Xansa to provide shared services to the national health service, 56 NHS organisations have transferred their finance and accounting to the JV, whilst 20 have transferred payroll.
	The estimate of the reduction in the number of NHS posts as a result of the transfer of these services is over 200.
	For the 56 trusts that have joined for finance and accounting, they are achieving savings of over 30 per cent. (which is relative to their previous in house costs) and greater than the original commitment by the JV of achieving 20 per cent. savings. This amounts to a saving, for the 56, of circa 3.9 million per annum.

Sight Loss (Emotional Support)

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) social services departments provide emotional support services for patients in Shropshire at the time of sight loss.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally. It can be obtained from Shropshire County Primary Care Trust and Shropshire county council.

Smoking

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods she uses to estimate the number of children who  (a) smoke and  (b) have stopped smoking.

Rosie Winterton: The survey Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England collects information on secondary school children's smoking behaviour. This includes information on the proportion of children who: are regular smokers; are occasional smokers; have tried smoking; used to smoke, that is, have now given up; have ever smoked; and have never smoked.
	The methodology for this survey is available within the report. A copy is available in the Library.

Social Care

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to increase the number of social care workers available to individuals requiring assistance during the evenings and at night time.

Ivan Lewis: It is the responsibility of local employers to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of social care workers available to provide the full cover to meet service needs.

Social Marketing

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to implement the recommendations in the National Consumer Council document on the potential for effective social marketing within the Health Service; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We commissioned the National Consumer Council to write a report analysing the case for using social marketing and give recommendations on how we could embed the necessary techniques and systems to achieve our Choosing Health white paper commitment to implement a social marketing strategy for England. This report was published on 26 June 2006, and the Department is currently reviewing these recommendations. Following evaluation over the summer we will announce in the autumn what recommendations we will be taking forward to enable us to implement a social marketing strategy for England.

Social Services Care

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 2163-70W, on social services care, what guidance her Department has issued on the splitting of each of the four eligibility bands into sub-priorities.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The Department has not issued specific guidance on the splitting of each of the four bands of categorisation contained in the fair access to care services (FACS) guidance into sub-priorities.

Specialised Children's Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to report on the review into commissioning of specialised children's services.

Ivan Lewis: The review into commissioning arrangements for specialised services was published on 19 May 2006. A number of services covered by specialised commissioning arrangements are for children. The key messages in that Review have been incorporated in the commissioning frameworknational health service guidance issued on 13 Julywith the aim of achieving more robust, consistent commissioning arrangements across the country to improve quality of, and reduce variation in, specialised service provision.

Specialist Nurses

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist nurses are employed in the NHS to care for people who have  (a) multiple sclerosis,  (b) Parkinson's disease,  (c) palliative care,  (d) rheumatology,  (e) diabetes and  (f) epilepsy in (i) Guildford and Waverley primary care trust, (ii) Surrey and (iii) England; whether her Department plans to increase the number of specialist nurse posts in each specialty; and whether there have been redundancies of specialist nurses in the NHS since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
	The annual workforce census does not collect information about nurses by speciality. It is the responsibility of local national health service employers and strategic health authorities to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of nurses to meet their local service needs.

Speech Therapists

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech and language therapists  (a) started and  (b) finished employment within the NHS in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by her Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005.

Ivan Lewis: Statutory instruments were reported on five occasions, in the committee's 4(th), 10(th), 13(th), 25(th) and 30(th) reports. Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported.

Sterilisations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many sterilisations were carried out  (a) alone and  (b) with other procedures in each health authority in England in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many sterilisations have been carried out within each health authority in England in each year since 1990, broken down by sex;
	(3)  what the cost to the NHS of  (a) male and  (b) female sterilisations in each health authority was in the last year for which figures are available;
	(4)  what the average time spent in hospital by women having sterilisation operations in each health authority was in the last period for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: The information available has been placed in the Library.
	The cost to the national health service for these treatments is not collected centrally.

Substance Misuse (Hospital Admissions)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions there have been via accident and emergency departments for  (a) alcohol-related conditions and  (b) illegal drug-related conditions for (i) those aged over 18 and (ii) under 18s in (A) absolute terms and (B) per 1,000 population in (1) rural areas and (2) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Information is not held centrally split between rural and non-rural areas.
	National data on the number of alcohol and drug related admissions via accident and emergency departments between 1996-97 and 2004-05 is shown in the table.
	This data is broken down between under 18, over 18 and also provides data in terms of per 1,000 of the population.
	
		
			  Count of accident and emergency admissions for alcohol and drug related conditions as primary diagnosis (see footnotes for codes used). Data for all national health service hospitals in England, data years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 
			  Alcohol related admissions 
			  Data year  Under 18  18 and over  Total episodes  Admissions per 1,000 of population 
			 2004-05 4,616 25,188 29,804 0.59 
			 2003-04 4,514 29,909 34,423 0.69 
			 2002-03 3,891 25,036 28,927 0.58 
			 2001-02 4,212 23,032 27,244 0.55 
			 2000-01 4,179 21,126 25,305 0.51 
			 1999-2000 4,502 20,260 24,762 0.51 
			 1998-99 3,736 18,406 22,142 0.45 
			 1997-98 4,131 17,603 21,734 0.45 
			 1996-97 3,866 15,584 19,450 0.40 
		
	
	
		
			  Drug related admissions 
			  Data year  Under 18  18 and over  Total episodes  Admissions per 1,000 population of 
			 2004-05 15,463 86,015 101,478 2.03 
			 2003-04 15,453 76,187 91,640 1.84 
			 2002-03 14,150 65,903 80,053 1.61 
			 2001-02 14,215 68,370 82,585 1.67 
			 2000-01 14,284 68,793 83,077 1.69 
			 1999-2000 15,090 73,190 88,280 1.80 
			 1998-99 15,942 75,574 91,516 1.87 
			 1997-98 18,958 79,778 98,736 2.03 
			 1996-97 18,030 73,007 91,037 1.88 
			  Notes: 1. Population of England figures used: 2004: 50,093,130 2003: 49,855,740 2002: 49,646,853 2001: 49,449,746 2000: 49,233,311 1999: 49,032,872 1998: 48,820,583 1997: 48,664,777 1996: 48,519,129  2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  3. Finished consultant episode (FCE) An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  4. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data are ungrossed.  5. Codes used as advised by data standards for drug related conditions, Connecting for Health: The ICD-10 code categories for mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use (including acute intoxication or abuse) are as follows: F11: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of opioids. F12: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids. F13: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of sedatives or hypnotics. F14: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cocaine. F15: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of other stimulants, including caffeine. F16: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of hallucinogens. F17: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of tobacco. F18: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of volatile solvents. F19: Mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances. The ICD-10 code categories for poisoning (either self-inflicted or accidental) are as follows: T36: Poisoning by systemic antibodies. T37: Poisoning by other systemic anti-infectives and antiparasitics. T38: Poisoning by hormones and their synthetic substitutes and antagonists, not elsewhere classified. T39: Poisoning by nonopioid analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics. T40: Poisoning by narcotics and psychodysleptics [hallucinogens]. T41: Poisoning by anaesthetics and therapeutic gases. T42: Poisoning by antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic and antiparkinsonism drugs. T43: Poisoning by psychotropic drugs, not elsewhere classified. T44: Poisoning by drugs primarily affecting the autonomic nervous system. T45: Poisoning by primarily systemic and haematological agents, not elsewhere classified. T46: Poisoning by agents primarily affecting the cardiovascular system. T47: Poisoning by agents primarily affecting the gastrointestinal system. T48: Poisoning by agents primarily acting on smooth and skeletal muscles and the respiratory system. T49: Poisoning by topical agents primarily affecting skin and mucous membrane and by ophthalmological, otorhinolaryngological and dental drugs. T50: Poisoning by diuretics and other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances. Codes used as advised by data standards for alcohol related conditions, Connecting for Health: F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol. K70: Alcoholic Liver Disease. T51: Toxic Effect of Alcohol.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Swimming Pools (Asthma)

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been undertaken by her Department on whether there is a link between chlorine in swimming pools and asthma.

Caroline Flint: The Committee on Medical Aspects of Air Pollution made a statement on swimming pools and asthma in August 2003. The committee was examining a paper that had been published in the Journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2003; 60:385-394.
	The committee felt that the study was of interest and that further focused research in this area was advisable to take further these preliminary findings. Members accepted that exposure to airway irritants such as chloramines could trigger the symptoms of asthma. It was argued that it was important to distinguish clearly between induction of asthma as a disease and the triggering of symptoms. The primary cause of most cases of asthma is unknown as are the reasons for the increase in asthma in the United Kingdom over the past 20 years. That exposure to chlorine and associated reaction products had played a significant part in causing this increase was felt to be unlikely.

Syringe Drivers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from where the NHS sources its syringe drivers; what the cost was in 2005-06; and how the NHS ensures it pays a competitive price.

Andy Burnham: Syringe drivers are contracted for at a local level and the cost is not held centrally. Price is generally dependant on the quantity purchased. The price is competitive because trusts are given guidelines to follow under competitive purchasing procedures, which take into account the price of the product over the contract duration.

Teeth-whitening Treatments

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether her Department has  (a) conducted and  (b) evaluated research into the safe level of hydrogen peroxide in teeth-whitening treatments;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with interested parties on proposals from the European Commission to raise the safe level of hydrogen peroxide in over-the-counter teeth-whitening treatments from 0.1 per cent. to 6 per cent.

Rosie Winterton: The European Union scientific committee on cosmetics and consumer products (SCCP) was asked to review the safety of increasing the percentage of hydrogen peroxide in over the counter tooth whitening products from 0.1 per cent. to 6 per cent. This report published in March 2005 outlined and reviewed all the relevant research into the safe levels hydrogen peroxide used in tooth whitening and concluded that in the opinion of SCCP:
	the use of tooth whitening products up to 0.1 per cent, hydrogen peroxide is safe;
	the proper use of tooth whitening products containing greater than 0.1 per cent, to 6 per cent, hydrogen peroxide, or equivalent for hydrogen peroxide releasing substances, is considered safe after consultation with and approval of the consumer's dentist. Tooth whitening is not recommended prior to or immediately after dental restoration and care should be taken by persons with gingivitis and other periodontal diseases or defective restorations;
	there is an absence of good clinical data and long-term epidmiological studies that assess possible adverse effects within the oral cavity; and
	new additional data supplied does not provide the necessary reassurance in terms of risk assessment to support that safety of hydrogen peroxide up to 6 per cent. in tooth whitening products freely and directly available to the consumer.
	The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department have noted and support the outcome of the committee's findings.
	Tooth whitening products are cosmetic products and are therefore not provided as part of the national health service in meeting patients' reasonable clinical needs.
	Tooth whitening products, along with other oral hygiene products are regulated by the Cosmetics Directive, implemented in the United Kingdom in the Cosmetic Product (Safety) Regulations. The European Commission and member states are currently considering how the SCCP opinion can be implemented to allow consumers to buy products containing up to 6 per cent. hydrogen peroxide. Any proposal will address the concerns of the SCCP including requiring industry to conduct epidemiological studies to assess the long-term effects of usage of this type of product.

Telephones (Hospitals)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what authority NHS hospitals prohibit the use of mobile phones within their premises on grounds of potential interference with  (a) medical equipment,  (b) patients' privacy and  (c) patients' peace and quiet.

Andy Burnham: Every national health service trust has responsibility for the safe use of medical equipment within their hospitals and should undertake a local risk assessment to determine those areas where it is safe to permit mobile telephone usage and those areas where usage should be prohibited, due to the presence of electrically sensitive medical devices. For example, this risk assessment should cover not only the public's use of mobile telephones and other radio equipment, but also the use of communication equipment by hospital staff and the emergency services.
	Restrictions in other areas of the hospital premises may be introduced for reasons other than their impact on the safety of medical equipment, such as the desire to reduce the disruption caused by the uncontrolled use of mobile telephones and the possible invasion of patients' privacy from phones with built in cameras, for example. Mobile telephone ring tones may be confused with medical device alarm signals by hospital staff, which could have a direct impact on patient safety.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has recently published Frequently asked questions on the use of mobile phones in hospitals on its website at www.mhra.gov.uk. This has links to other MHRA publications on the effects of mobile telephones on medical equipment.

Telephones (Hospitals)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response she has made to the conclusions of the review group on the costs to users of bedside television and telephone systems in NHS hospitals.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made on 20 July 2006,  Official Report, column 43WS.

Telephones (Hospitals)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the NHS decided to allow the subsidy of patients' bedside telephone and entertainment services from charges for incoming calls.

Andy Burnham: The telephone service is primarily a service for the patients, while in hospital.
	Three private companies are licensed to provide bedside televisions and telephones to major hospitals in England. The incoming call charges range from 35 pence per minute to 49p per minute.
	At the time of setting up the licensing procedure the Department specified that the outgoing call rate should be set at less than the national call rate and that free television should be made available for children.
	The private companies set charges for all the other services to ensure the commercial viability of the initiative.

Transfats

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations govern acceptable levels of transfats in food products specifically marketed to children; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: There are no specific regulations that govern levels of trans fatty acids (TFAs) in any food products. The average consumption of TFAs is below the maximum level recommended by the committee on medical aspects of food policy in 1994.

Trust Deficits

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the relative contribution of  (a) management failure,  (b) inaccurate resource allocation and  (c) other factors to the deficits in trusts in 2005-06;
	(2)  how many trusts experienced account deficits in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06; and what assessment she has made of the factors causing differences in the level of deficit.

Andy Burnham: The information requested on the number of trusts in deficit for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 has been placed in the Library.
	A report by the Department's director of finance, NHS financial performance 2005-06, was placed in the Library on 7 June 2006. The provisional analysis set out in the report indicates both that there is no single, simple cause of deficits and no single simple solution, and that there are no strong relationships between deficits and a range of funding factors.
	Further detailed analysis on the causes of deficits has been commissioned from the Department's chief economic advisor.

Trust Surpluses

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether strategic health authorities (SHAs) were provided with an incentive by her Department to retain surpluses generated by constituent trusts and primary care trusts in the 2005-06 financial year at the SHA level; and whether they are provided with an incentive to do so in the 2006-07 financial year.

Andy Burnham: In 2005-06, a strategic health authority (SHA) incentive scheme was introduced and managed by the NHS Bank. The main aim of the scheme was to encourage good financial management. Any SHA taking advantage of the incentive scheme needed to demonstrate satisfactory delivery of key performance targets.
	In 2006-07, SHAs will take the lead locally in developing and implementing a service and financial strategy for managing the financial position within their locality. This will include creating local reserves. The size of the reserves and any contribution from each primary care trust (PCT) will vary according to local circumstances, but the underlying principle will be fairness. We expect SHAs to maintain the integrity of the allocations system with PCTs entitled to repayment of any contributions over a reasonable period not normally exceeding the three-year allocation cycle.

Tuberculosis

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of tuberculosis was in each region in each year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: Details of tuberculosis case reports and rates per 100,000 population by region, in England and Wales, are shown in the following tables which are also available on Health Protection Agency website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/epidemiology/tablel5.htm.
	
		
			  Tables 1 and 2: Tuberculosis case reports and rates (per 100,000 population) by region, England and Wales, 1999 to 2004 
			   1999  2000  2001 
			  Region  Number  Rate (per 100,000)  Number  Rate (per 100,000)  Number  Rate (per 100,000) 
			 London 2,308 32.8 2641 37.2 2,717 37.8 
			 West Midlands 654 12.4 734 14.0 713 13.5 
			 North West 680 10.1 638 9.5 652 9.7 
			 East Midlands 424 10.2 418 10.1 570 13.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 486 9.8 543 11.0 563 11.3 
			 South East 415 5.2 454 5.7 470 5.9 
			 East of England 215 4.0 280 5.2 328 6.1 
			 South West 193 4.0 225 4.6 216 4.4 
			 North East 164 6.5 158 6.3 185 7.4 
			 Wales 165 5.7 180 6.2 183 6.3 
			 Total 5,704 11.0 6,271 12.1 6,597 12.7 
		
	
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004 
			  Region  Number  Rate (per 100,000)  Number  Rate (per 100,000)  Number  Rate (per 100,000) 
			 London 2,986 40.6 3,049 41.3 3,129 42.1 
			 West Midlands 807 15.2 810 15.2 912 17.1 
			 North West 649 9.6 592 8.7 588 8.6 
			 East Midlands 489 11.6 475 11.2 443 10.4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 514 10.3 547 10.9 544 10.8 
			 South East 456 5.7 455 5.6 465 5.7 
			 East of England 352 6.5 328 6.0 395 7.2 
			 South West 230 4.6 205 4.1 270 5.4 
			 North East 155 6.2 147 5.8 149 5.9 
			 Wales 156 5.3 172 5.9 191 6.5 
			 Total 6,794 13.0 6,780 12.8 7,086 13.4 
			  Sources: Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance, Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates, as at 17 March 2006. Communicable disease surveillance centre (CDSC), Health Protection Agency centre for infections.

Turnaround Teams

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding her Department has allocated for turnaround teams for NHS organisations; and what average period of time teams have remained in organisations in the last 12 months, broken down by  (a) strategic health authority,  (b) primary care trust and  (c) hospital trust.

Andy Burnham: The Department is funding the national programme office and the strategic health authority (SHA) turnaround directors but trusts and primary care trusts are responsible for funding the support they decide they require. The Department will spend in 2005-06 and 2006-07 about 11 million, excluding VAT and expenses, on the turnaround programme at a national and SHA level covering local baseline assessments, a national programme office, one-off local support payments and SHA turnaround directors.
	It is for local organisations to determine and commission the turnaround support they require and the Department does not maintain records on the average period of time these teams remain in the organisations.

Vocational General Practice Training Scheme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people completed the vocational general practice training scheme in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The total number of vocational general practice training certificates has increased year on year in the last five years.
	
		
			   Total 
			 2001 1,787 
			 2002 1,978 
			 2003 1,907 
			 2004 2,244 
			 2005 2,567

Waiting Times/Lists

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of people in  (a) Houghton and Washington East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area were waiting more than (i) three months, (ii) six months and (iii) a year for an NHS operation in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the information relating to the Sunderland health authority (HA) and the Sunderland primary care trust (PCT) is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Number of patients waiting for inpatient treatment, Sunderland HA, quarter four, 1996-97 to 2001-02 
			   Total waiting  Waiting more than three months  Waiting more than six months  Waiting more than 12 months 
			Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1996-97 7,064 3,318 47.0 1,480 21.0 1 0 
			 1997-98 7,259 3,275 45.1 1,513 20.8 1 0 
			 1998-99 6,562 2,886 44.0 1,303 19.9 2 0 
			 1999-2000 5,918 2,407 40.7 1,100 18.6 6 0.1 
			 2000-01 5,880 2,457 41.8 1,259 21.4 2 0 
			 2001-02 6,060 2,755 45.5 1,329 21.9 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of patients waiting for inpatient treatment, Sunderland PCT, quarter four, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   Total waiting  Waiting more than three months  Waiting more than six months  Waiting more than 12 months 
			Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 2002-03 5,744 1,912 33.3 508 8.8 0 0 
			 2003-04 4,720 1,374 29.1 310 6.6 0 0 
			 2004-05 3,894 920 23.6 15 0.4 0 0 
			 2005-06 4,508 892 19.8 0 0 0 0

Waiting Times/Lists

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what incentives her Department has introduced to reduce waiting times for  (a) elective surgical procedures,  (b) initial consultation and  (c) diagnostic procedures.

Andy Burnham: A description of the Department's approach to implementing the 18 week referral-to-treatment waiting time target is set out in detail in Tackling hospital waiting: the 18 week patient pathwayan implementation framework, published in May. The document is available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/46/69/04134669.pdf.

Waiting Times/Lists

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for  (a) a hip replacement operation and  (b) an MRI scan in (i) each London strategic health authority and (ii) each London primary care trust in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: The table shows average hip replacement waiting times by London primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) for the years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05.
	Data on average waits for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows average waits for MRI scans by London primary care trusts in April 2006 which is the latest information available.
	
		
			  Median waits for MRI scans in London PCTs and SHAs, April 2006 
			  Organisation  Median wait (weeks) 
			 Hillingdon PCT 6.6 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 5.3 
			 Ealing PCT 6.9 
			 Hounslow PCT 8.6 
			 Brent PCT 7.3 
			 Harrow PCT 5.9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 5.3 
			 Westminster PCT 6.6 
			 Barnet PCT 8.4 
			 Enfield PCT 8.3 
			 Haringey PCT 8.9 
			 Camden PCT 9.3 
			 Islington PCT 8.9 
			 Havering PCT 10.0 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 12.1 
			 City and Hackney PCT 5.8 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 3.4 
			 Newham PCT 2.7 
			 Redbridge PCT 8.3 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 7.0 
			 Bromley PCT 3.4 
			 Greenwich PCT 3.4 
			 Lambeth PCT 4.6 
			 Southwark PCT 4.5 
			 Lewisham PCT 3.5 
			 Bexley Care Trust 3.9 
			 Kingston PCT 6.3 
			 Croydon PCT 6.7 
			 Wandsworth PCT 5.6 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 7.8 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 4.2 
			 North West London SHA 6.7 
			 North Central London SHA 8.6 
			 North East London SHA 6.3 
			 South East London SHA 3.8 
			 South West London SHA 6.1 
			  Source: DM01 diagnostic waiting times returns 
		
	
	
		
			  Hip replacement waiting times (mean and median) 2002-03 by London PCT and SHA of residence NHS hospitals, England 
			  SHA of residence  PCT of residence  Median waiting time  Mean waiting time 
			 North Central London HA Barnet PCT 185 213 
			 North Central London HA Camden PCT 158 199 
			 North Central London HA Enfield PCT 341 327 
			 North Central London HA Haringey PCT 170 247 
			 North Central London HA Islington PCT 182 219 
			  North Central London HA  206 244 
			 North East London HA Barking And Dagenham PCT 367 326 
			 North East London HA Chingford, Wanstead And Woodford PCT 405 380 
			 North East London HA City And Hackney PCT 64 107 
			 North East London HA Havering PCT 381 342 
			 North East London HA Newham PCT 170 178 
			 North East London HA Redbridge PCT 245 254 
			 North East London HA Tower Hamlets PCT 231 232 
			 North East London HA Walthamstow, Leyton And Leytonstone PCT 405 384 
			  North East London HA  286 278 
			 
			 North West London HA Brent PCT 138 190 
			 North West London HA Ealing PCT 121 167 
			 North West London HA Hammersmith And Fulham PCT 200 200 
			 North West London HA Harrow PCT 122 164 
			 North West London HA Hillingdon PCT 134 173 
			 North West London HA Hounslow PCT 85 149 
			 North West London HA Kensington And Chelsea PCT 152 179 
			 North West London HA Westminster PCT 140 184 
			  North West London HA  135 176 
			 
			 South East London HA Bexley PCT 327 321 
			 South East London HA Bromley PCT 269 271 
			 South East London HA Greenwich PCT 319 322 
			 South East London HA Lambeth PCT 192 229 
			 South East London HA Lewisham PCT 312 299 
			 South East London HA Southwark PCT 275 282 
			  South East London HA  282 286 
			 
			 South West London HA Croydon PCT 356 321 
			 South West London HA Kingston PCT 147 219 
			 South West London HA Richmond And Twickenham PCT 118 167 
			 South West London HA Sutton And Merton PCT 314 293 
			 South West London HA Wandsworth PCT 196 241 
			  South West London HA  245 259 
		
	
	
		
			  Hip replacement waiting times (mean and median) 2003-04 by London PCT and SHA of residence NHS hospitals, England 
			  SHA of residence  PCT of residence  Median waiting time  Mean waiting time 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Barnet PCT 172 198 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Camden PCT 192 204 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Enfield PCT 176 202 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Haringey Teaching PCT 207 216 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Islington PCT 217 226 
			  North Central London Strategic HA  183 207 
			 
			 North East London Strategic HA Barking And Dagenham PCT 238 235 
			 North East London Strategic HA City And Hackney Teaching PCT 71 110 
			 North East London Strategic HA Havering PCT 276 264 
			 North East London Strategic HA Newham PCT 150 157 
			 North East London Strategic HA Redbridge PCT 248 241 
			 North East London Strategic HA Tower Hamlets PCT 210 211 
			 North East London Strategic HA Waltham Forest PCT 277 245 
			  North East London Strategic HA  221 227 
			 
			 North West London Strategic HA Brent Teaching PCT 134 162 
			 North West London Strategic HA Ealing PCT 100 139 
			 North West London Strategic HA Hammersmith And Fulham PCT 145 153 
			 North West London Strategic HA Harrow PCT 111 146 
			 North West London Strategic HA Hillingdon PCT 161 182 
			 North West London Strategic HA Hounslow PCT 71 118 
			 North West London Strategic HA Kensington And Chelsea PCT 108 161 
			 North West London Strategic HA Westminster PCT 114 165 
			  North West London Strategic HA  111 153 
			 
			 South East London Strategic HA Bexley Care Trust 256 258 
			 South East London Strategic HA Bromley PCT 211 227 
			 South East London Strategic HA Greenwich PCT 325 295 
			 South East London Strategic HA Lambeth PCT 200 200 
			 South East London Strategic HA Lewisham PCT 234 235 
			 South East London Strategic HA Southwark PCT 230 228 
			  South East London Strategic HA  241 242 
			 
			 South West London Strategic HA Croydon PCT 226 240 
			 South West London Strategic HA Kingston PCT 118 172 
			 South West London Strategic HA Richmond and Twickenham PCT 99 152 
			 South West London Strategic HA Sutton and Merton PCT 224 215 
			 South West London Strategic HA Wandsworth PCT 122 168 
			  South West London Strategic HA  163 197 
		
	
	
		
			  Hip replacement waiting times (mean and median) 2004-05 by London PCT and SHA of residence NHS hospitals, England 
			  SHA of residence  PCT of residence  Median waiting time  Mean waiting time 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Barnet PCT 172 175 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Camden PCT 178 187 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Enfield PCT 181 188 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Haringey Teaching PCT 153 164 
			 North Central London Strategic HA Islington PCT 140 143 
			  North Central London Strategic HA  165 173 
			 
			 North East London Strategic HA Barking And Dagenham PCT 193 200 
			 North East London Strategic HA City And Hackney Teaching PCT 129 137 
			 North East London Strategic HA Havering PCT 218 209 
			 North East London Strategic HA Newham PCT 119 135 
			 North East London Strategic HA Redbridge PCT 175 172 
			 North East London Strategic HA Tower Hamlets PCT 167 181 
			 North East London Strategic HA Waltham Forest PCT 215 206 
			  North East London Strategic HA  180 186 
			 
			 North West London Strategic HA Brent Teaching PCT 168 164 
			 North West London Strategic HA Ealing PCT 91 117 
			 North West London Strategic HA Hammersmith And Fulham PCT 101 119 
			 North West London Strategic HA Harrow PCT 67 111 
			 North West London Strategic HA Hillingdon PCT 126 141 
			 North West London Strategic HA Hounslow PCT 90 107 
			 North West London Strategic HA Kensington And Chelsea PCT 110 149 
			 North West London Strategic HA Westminster PCT 88 131 
			  North West London Strategic HA  106 131 
			 
			 South East London Strategic HA Bexley Care Trust 198 224 
			 South East London Strategic HA Bromley PCT 189 200 
			 South East London Strategic HA Greenwich Teaching PCT 180 197 
			 South East London Strategic HA Lambeth PCT 175 179 
			 South East London Strategic HA Lewisham PCT 128 154 
			 South East London Strategic HA Southwark PCT 169 170 
			  South East London Strategic HA  182 194 
			 
			 South West London Strategic HA Croydon PCT 176 171 
			 South West London Strategic HA Kingston PCT 166 171 
			 South West London Strategic HA Richmond And Twickenham PCT 122 131 
			 South West London Strategic HA Sutton And Merton PCT 195 181 
			 South West London Strategic HA Wandsworth PCT 206 177 
			  South West London Strategic HA  167 166 
			  Notes: 1.  Time waited (days): Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension. 2.  Ungrossed Data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care 
		
	
	
		
			  OPCS codes for identifying hip replacement operations 
			  Code  
			 W37 Total prosthetic replacement of hip joint using cement 
			 W38 Total prosthetic replacement of hip joint not using cement 
			 W39 Other total prosthetic replacement of hip joint 
			 W46 Prosthetic replacement of head of femur using cement 
			 W47 Prosthetic replacement of head of femur not using cement 
			 W48 Other prosthetic replacement of head of femur

Waiting Times/Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 2086-88W, on waiting times/lists, if she will make a statement on the differences between the averages given by the Korner aggregate returns and those given by the Hospital Episode Statistics.

Andy Burnham: A detailed analysis of the differences between the hospital episode statistics and Korner waiting times can be found in a Health Statistics Quarterly article at the following address: www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/hsq/HSQ24waiting-time.pdf.
	A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Welfare Food Scheme

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnant women in  (a) England,  (b) the Tees Valley and  (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland have participated in the welfare food scheme since 2001.

Caroline Flint: The number of pregnant women in England who have received either milk tokens or healthy start vouchers since November 2004 is 111,422. Prior to November 2004, routine information on milk tokens was not collected centrally.
	Data is not collected by constituency or district, therefore the information requested for Tees Valley or Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Food Scheme

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnant women have participated in the welfare food scheme in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster since 2001.

Caroline Flint: Data relating to recipients of welfare food is not collated by constituency or district. Therefore, figures relating specifically to Barnsley or Doncaster would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Yellow Card Reporting System

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adverse reaction reports were received through the yellow card reporting system for  (a) all anti-psychotic drugs,  (b) traditional anti-psychotic drugs and  (c) atypical anti-psychotic drugs in 2005; and how many prescriptions there were for each type of drug for those aged (i) 50 to 64, (ii) 65 to 74 and (iii) 75 years and over.

Andy Burnham: The yellow card scheme is the United Kingdom system for collecting and monitoring information on suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The scheme is run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the commission on human medicines (CHM). The scheme relies upon voluntary reporting of suspected ADRs by health professionals. Marketing authorisation holders are legally obliged to report any serious suspected adverse reaction that comes to their attention to the MHRA/CHM.
	The following tables contain the number of suspected ADR reports received via the UK yellow card scheme for  (a) all anti-psychotic drugs,  (b) traditional anti-psychotic drugs and  (c) atypical anti-psychotic drugs in 2005; together with the estimated number of prescriptions written in the community in the UK for the 12 months ending 31 March 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of suspected ADR reports UK 2005 
			  Age group  All anti-psychotic drugs  Traditional anti-psychotic drugs  Atypical anti-psychotic drugs 
			 All 2,567 100 2,467 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Estimated number of prescriptions written in the community between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 
			  Age group  All anti-psychotic drugs  Traditional anti-psychotic drugs  Atypical anti-psychotic drugs 
			 50 to 64 1,191,360 584,256 607,104 
			 65 to 74 604,928 311,386 293,542 
			 75 years and over 1,577,981 735,107 842,874 
		
	
	It is important to note that a report of an adverse reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease. Other factors such as the time since a drug was first marketed, media interest, the reason for prescribing or regulatory action can also influence the frequency of reporting. This means that reporting rates based on numbers of spontaneous reports and numbers of prescriptions are not true measures of the frequency of reactions or the ideal basis for comparisons between drug substances or classes. For these reasons, no firm conclusions can be drawn from a possibly higher reporting rate in 2005, of suspected adverse reactions with the more recently marketed atypical anti-psychotics, based on yellow card data, compared to more traditional anti-psychotics.

York Hospital

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much capital expenditure there has been at York hospital in each year since 1996-97; and what new facilities and equipment were purchased with the expenditure in each year.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 24 July 2006
	Information on capital expenditure for York hospitals NHS trust is shown in the following table. Information is not held centrally relating to particular facilities orequipment purchased. Accounts information on individual national health service bodies is only currently available between 1998-99 and 2004-05.
	
		
			  000 
			   Intangibles  Buildings  Assets under construction  Equipment 
			 1998-99 0 1,794 91 1,300 
			 1999-2000 0 972 172 1,634 
			 2000-01 34 3,613 133 2,791 
			 2001-02 88 1,065 628 2,378 
		
	
	
		
			  000 
			   Software licences  Buildings  Assets under construction  Plant and machinery  Transport equipment  Information technology 
			 2002-03 133 2,106 6,294 933 10 756 
			 2003-04 388 2,581 3,199 3,002 68 2,009 
			 2004-05 90 7,782 5,286 1,727 76 532 
			  Source: Audited summarisation schedules for York Hospitals NHS Trust

Environmental Health Inspections (Food Outlets)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many establishments serving food have been closed following environmental health inspections in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that the information requested is not available centrally in the form requested.
	Local authorities (LAs) are required to report to the Food Standards Agency the number of food premises subject to formal enforcement action, including those to which written warnings, improvement notices, prohibition orders and emergency prohibition orders were issued. But the monitoring data returns from London boroughs cover the enforcement of both food hygiene and food standards, and the total enforcement action data cannot be divided between the two.
	Information on general food law enforcement action by LAs in 2004-05 was set out in the paper presented to the Food Standards Agency Board in February 2006, paper FSA 06/02/04. I have arranged for a copy of the paper to be placed in the Library.